To play the Game
by wangfei55
Summary: Elise (or was it Louisa?) somehow ends up in a game, she used to play in her 'last life'. Well, what to do, if you suddenly end up in a game world? Exploit your game knowledge and enjoy learning magic of course, while casually trying to break the game flow from time to time. Now then, don't get eaten or married, should be easy enough, right?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Creating a Character

* * *

Confused, I stared at the scene in front of me. There were two big signs, telling me to enter my name and the silhouette of a person. Next to the person were arrow keys, apparently for choosing the look of this avatar. The scene in itself was already strange enough, but the fact, that I saw this before added a bit to its strangeness. It was the character creation screen of a visual novel I played before. I slowly close my eyes and open them again. Nope, still there. I wait.  
...Nothing happens. Ok, I guess I have to create a character. Cute or weird? – I deliberate. I decided against the pink afro with pink eyes and went with a dark red ponytail and blue eyes instead. And the slim body type and light but not pale skin. Now to the name… How do I even enter my name? I touched the sign titled 'family name'. The cursor started to blink. "Oh", escaped my lips. An "O" appeared in the naming field. I see. But how to delete the letter? I guess I will just go with it. Elise Ojousama. I'm bad at naming, but hey, who cares? Nervously I touched the 'Done' button. I wonder, what will happen?

Darkness envelopes me and memories flood into my mind. _It all started three years ago,_ THE HELL?! _on my thirteenth birthday…_  
And suddenly, I stand at the entrance of Iris Academy with my suitcase, in a f***ing mage robe, and more importantly, IN THE BODY OF A SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLD GIRL! With blue eyes and a dark red ponytail of course. I stare at the entrance and wait, but nothing happens. Ok. I mean what the hell, but I will just go with the flow, I guess. Since I played the game before, it should ease my new life. Which I was suddenly granted without any reason, at least  
I can't remember being killed by Truck-san or something similar…  
So naturally the first thing to do is obvious for me: DON'T RUN INTO PROFESSOR GRABINER.  
Should be easy enough, since I know it would happen, if I am not careful enough, and he will – would – give me demerits for it.  
I grab my suitcases and look in all directions, before I carefully place one foot before the other, walking as fast as a grandma with a damaged hip.  
A bit exaggerated I admit, but hey, better safe than sorry, right? Now, where is Horse Hall? I make one step in front of me, while looking around the halls- and promptly bump into someone. THE HELL?! Speechless I look up to the grumpy looking man with curly black hair and red-brown eyes in front of me.  
Where the f**** did he come from? Did he teleport here, just so that I could bump into him? Intimidated by his fiery look I whisper, "Sorry, Sir."  
"A new student, I see. And what might your name be? ", he asks me. His voice is surprisingly lovely, but I don't fall for his pseudo-relaxed tone. I know, he will give me demerits for this. Did he bump into me on purpose, just to give me demerits? For a second I consider giving him a false name, but he will probably notice sooner or later, and then I would be in deep trouble. "Elise Ojousama, Sir." I don't continue, since I know he doesn't care about my reasons for 'bumping into him'.  
"Miss… Ojousama, is it? Wild seed. How unsurprising.", he says while looking into his book. I have to hold back a childish giggle.  
Ojousama is after all a polite, Japanese address for rich young girls. It feels, as if he would unknowingly bow to me. It's also weird, that he doesn't seem to notice how strange my name is. I mean Ojousama is definitely not your typical American family name, right? I wonder, how he would have reacted, if I would have called myself 'Buttface McButts', like a certain youtuber likes to name her characters. Would he have reacted the same?  
I'm too old for such childish jokes, but that would have been hilarious. "More than likely, a complete waste of my time. You have no idea how much you have been given and you will throw it all away.", he adds, even though I haven't commented his remark about wild seeds. I beg your pardon?!  
As someone born into a magical household, he probably can't imagine how – magical – magic is for us lowly 'wild seeds', so concluding, that we wouldn't know how much we have been given, is a bit hasty. He scribbles something in his book. "Ten demerits. Not a promising start." His voice then grows louder and more intimidating, "Pay more attention to your studies than you do to where you're walking, Miss Ojousama, or you'll find yourself expelled from this academy, before the New Year."  
And with that he stalks away. Great. Am I even able to act outside of the game choices, I wonder?  
In which case I should probably pursue the "alone and unloved" end. After a while I finally find my room, where Ellen is already waiting.  
I try my best to act as if I wouldn't know anything about her, while we introduce ourselves. After Virginia joined our conversation, I follow them to meet her brothers.  
I take a hot shower in the evening and after drying my hair a bit with the towel, I stare at my reflection. I have a normal height (around 165cm?), I observe with satisfaction. In my last life I was a bit small, around 155cm and often got mistaken for a minor. I remember buying a bus ticket for children under 12 years, when I was seventeen or eighteen. I always needed my ID for buying alcohol. Well, I guess I'll still be mistaken for younger than I am, in a way.  
Apart from that, I have a delicate face, which looks rather cute in my opinion. No pimples. Now that I think about it, I haven't seen anyone with pimples.  
Is magic protecting you from blemishes, or something? Kind of satisfied with my new body, I head back to my room.

The rest of the time until we can finally choose our courses for the week, seems to pass by way too slowly, as I can't wait to finally join my first magic classes.  
For the first week I focus on each magic colour for a day, starting with red magic. I guess I didn't make a too strong impression on Grabby, as he acts towards me as grumpy as to other students. That's good, I guess. Since I know a bit more about him due to the game, I actually have no aversion against him, even though he is intimidating, grumpy and has a hobby of giving demerits to random students for trivialities, as I know a bit about him due to my game knowledge.  
I have played his route before, not even knowing that he really was a romance option, I simply noticed you could choose to think of him at this event with Potsdam.  
So I decided to go for him in my next play-through for the 'lols'. I was really surprised, when I actually really liked his route.  
It's even my favourite route of all, to be honest. Apart from that, I won't try to go on his route of course. I mean, being forced to marry a grumpy teacher and be ostracized by the whole student body, is not really an experience I want to go through, thank you very much. Speaking of love routes, Ellen and Virginia were also possible options, right? I wonder, if they're bisexual? Though Virginia actually seems to be asexual. Or maybe she's just a late-bloomer.

Anyways, doesn't that make Ellen going through Virginias clothes a bit more awkward? Though it's already awkward enough. I'm not good at acting and don't want to be weird or loose 'points' with my roommates, so I try to casually ask Ellen, what the hell she's doing, even though I already know, that she's sorting Virginias stuff for her due to her own tidiness fetish. Ellen shrieks (as expected) and explains her actions flustered. I enjoy tidiness and cleanliness myself, but I would never mind the dressers of other people, since it's not part of my 'territory'. Ellen is weird, I guess. Not that I mind weirdness though. "Hey guys, what's up?", asks Virginia behind me. "Ellen lost against her inner cleaning demon", I answer, as I already know, that Ellen is doing this out of her own will and not due to being forced into acting as a maid for Virginia. "Huh?", Virginia reacts. ".. Just what is going on here?", she adds. She reacted the same way as in the game, right? Even though I behaved differently. Also, why do I remember the game's conversation so well? That starts to creep me out a bit, to be honest. "I'm just a bit confused…", I mutter to myself.  
"She saw me putting away some of your clothes.", Ellen answers Virginia. "Oh, it was you that's been doing that?", Virginia answers.  
"I'm sorry! I just hate messy rooms!", Ellen apologizes. "No, it's my fault. I'm not very good at picking up after myself. Mom always does this for me at home.  
Still, I didn't think it was too bad yet. We've only been here a week." "I hate having things being out of place. It makes me feel nervous.", Ellen complains.  
Virginia shrugs. "I don't know if I can make things perfect all the time." I sigh. We have to live together for a long time, it's not good if we argue about that the whole time. So we should definitely resolve the conflict. In the game the player had 3 options:

1) everyone maintains their own space, 2) Ellen teaches Virginia and 3) Virginia pays Ellen for tidying up after her.

But since I grew a bit anxious about not having a free will apart from the game choices, I would like to go with a fourth option. However, the option should still resolve the conflict as peaceful as possible. "Uhm, well I guess Virginia is a bit too sloppy, it will be uncomfortable for us, if she keeps being so messy.  
But it's not like everything needs to be as tidy as Ellen wants, you are after all VERY tidy, and I don't think we can keep up with that. So I guess Virginia should learn from Ellen about how to keep the room tidy and Ellen shouldn't tidy up our private stuff without even asking. Virginia's closet should be out of sight for you anyways, so it shouldn't bother you THAT much, right? That way, things should be alright for everyone, shouldn't it?" My proposal differs from the second option, doesn't it? Right? RIGHT? I mean, I conceded Virginia room for being messy, so it's different... Isn't it? "I suppose.", Virginia admits a bit sulking.  
Well, my proposal is not perfect, but that's impossible anyways.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The weekend

* * *

The next morning, I wake up to the sound of our allowances in envelopes being pushed under our door. "Hey! Money's here.", Virginia happily observes.  
"If it is our money, why can't they give it to us all at once?", Ellen complains. Ellen seems to like complaining… "Probably a trust issue due to airheads running out of money on the first day and complaining about it for the rest of the year.", I answer absent-minded. "Well, that might teach people to plan ahead", Ellen argues.  
"This way still teaches people to plan ahead. If you want to buy anything really cool, you've gotta save up. But you're missing the important part! It's Saturday and that means a trip to the mall!", Virginia comments. "I didn't know you like spending your money so much", I answer instinctively.  
"I don't. But it's great to get out and look at something other than school for a while, isn't it? Also they have ice cream. And penny candy. And really big cinnamon cookies. And – ", "We get the idea", Ellen interrupts. "Since I've been there before. I can show you guys around", "What about studying?", Ellen asks. "You have plenty of time for that during the week, right Elise?", Virginia turns to me. I debate with myself, whether to go to the mall or study. I'm quite the studious type and don't feel stressed out yet, even though I should feel a bit stressed considering the game's attribute system, but I haven't seen the mall yet and wouldn't like exploring it on my own. "Sure, I'd love to go to the mall with you", I finally answer Virginia. "Great! Ellen?", Virginia turns to her. "I guess it's okay. But you ought to have a good breakfast before you look at ice cream!" And with that we decided to go to the mall. Seeing all the students walking around while wearing their magic robes, without attracting attention, sure is a strange sight. After getting a cookie in the café with Virginia, I visit the magical shop. As I watch the illusion of a dead end crumble into the sight of the magic shop 'Marvellous Magical Accoutrements', I can't help but be amazed. So magical. Awesome.  
I try on the fairy wings. So cool. Such a pity that I can't afford them. I wonder, if I really become cuter just by wearing them. I observe my reflection in a mirror… nope, just looks weird on me. At least in my opinion. Such a pity. I try on the bat wings. They make me look like a demon, but definitely suit me better than the fairy wings due to my dark red hair. With a sigh I put them back. Then I spot the glasses. Can they make me smarter? It's ridiculous, but hey, this IS a magic store after all.  
I put them on. I somehow get the feeling, that they help me concentrate a bit, like it is easier to focus with them on. Awesome, though it's not much, they would definitely help with studying, so I have to buy them, once I have enough money. Apart from the items mentioned in the game, the magic shop also sells various instruments for unknown purposes. I have seen them in the classrooms before, I wonder how and for that you use them.  
After I browsed through the items of the magic store, it's already time to return to the academy.

The rest of the evening I spent in our room, chatting with Ellen and Virginia a bit and contemplating my situation. During the week, I was occupied with my classes and my head was cramped with my new knowledge about magic, so I was too tired to think about this mess, I somehow landed myself in.  
It feels so strange, to suddenly become another person. Before entering the game's world, I was a nineteen-year-old, twenty-year-old? How old was I again? I don't remember. Scary. Well, I was at least older than sixteen, but younger than twenty-five. And I was female, so at least my gender hasn't changed. I studied microbiology, though I don't remember in which semester I was. In Germany. I was German. And suddenly I have problems with speaking my mother tongue.  
Seems like my avatar learned a bit of German in high school. At least I can still speak a bit of German, and my English naturally got better… I have to stay positive, right? To suddenly study magic, well… it is awesome, I guess. But the fact, that this is the world in a game... The thought, that I might not have a free will anymore… I mean, I don't mind following the game's choices, if it suits me, but at the same time, I don't want to be constricted into the game's choices. A way to change would probably be simply acting weird as f***, but I want to avoid social obliteration as well. Also, being weird isn't necessary behaving 'outside of the box', as you could 'raise' your weirdness or your cuteness in the game. After some deliberation, I conclude, that I will simply act however I see fit, trying to break the game's flow by 'thinking outside of the box' from time to time, just to see what happens and if I could reach an end apart from the predetermined ends from the game. Apart from my 'experiments', I will use my knowledge about the game for my advantage, should the predetermined events still occur. As I have sorted out, how to behave in this weird situation, my mind is finally a bit at peace, and I go to bed. It's been a long day…

The next morning, I wake up feeling somewhat refreshed. It's Sunday. Yei . Now, what to do? We're not allowed any electronic devices after all.  
Such a pity, it would be interesting to see, how much the internet here has in common with my previous world. Like in term of pop culture and stuff. What year is it anyways? Suddenly I miss my old home. Without the possibility to listen to whatever music I like, or play any computer games, or reading some internet manga or something similar, I have no idea how to spend my time. Well, I liked reading, so maybe read a book? I am used to just going with the flow, otherwise I probably would have more problems with adjusting to my new environment, so it shouldn't be too difficult to find something to spend my time with. I decide to go for a walk, the campus gardens are quite pretty, and I enjoy spending time in nature. I lived rather rural, before I started going to university after all.  
I follow a path away from the main buildings to find some fields, perfect for playing outside. Definitely have to do that with Virginia's sport club sometime. Joining the sports club follows the game's path, but I do want to do some sport, in order to stay fit. Also, I like sport and it's a good counterweight for studying.  
Up ahead I see Virginia, standing next to a pink-haired girl with fairy wings. That must be Pastel. "- mostly girls this year, isn't it?", she asks Virginia. Right, I walked straight into one of the game's events. Creepy, how these events unfold just like in the game. "Yeah. Both my roommates are", answers Virginia. Did she seriously expect a male roommate? And aren't the dorms divided into male and female? Female horses, male wolves etc.? Which reminds me… in what dorms do genderless students get sorted? Are they allowed to choose, whether they prefer to stay with females or males? Or does this school not have genderless students?  
Since other magical beings apart from humans are admitted, it would be kind of discriminating not to admit genderless magical beings.  
Or beings with a third gender or whatever. "That could be a problem, eventually.", answers Pastel as expected. "Well, maybe more of us should drop out ", comments Virginia. "Well, the other way would be more fun." "Maybe for you it would", Pastel answers with a laugh. I shortly consider joining the conversation, just to spite the game, but decide against it. I'm not really interested anyway. After my walk I go to the library to find a good book to read, but their collection of fictional books is rather disappointing. They do have some books about magic though. I look through some of these books, but since I don't know much about magic yet, I find them too difficult to read. There are also a few books about magical rites and stuff, but they seem to be awfully specific and not suited for clueless wild seeds like me.  
I decide to head back to my room after lunch and sort my magic notes. Most sixteen year olds would probably find it difficult to freely study on their own, as it isn't really required in school, because the teachers decide for you, which exercises you have to do for you, but in university the students are more independent in studying. Rather than teaching you the material, the lectures show you, what you have to know, at least that's how it felt for me.  
Due to this, I'm already used to teaching myself, however it still remains more difficult than being taught by a teacher. That being said, it wasn't too difficult to bring myself to revise what I have learned and make more organized notes. I was still bored after dinner; I should definitely find something to do in my free time next week. By the way, I'm not writing a diary. I used to try writing it as a child, but would always forget writing anything in it. Maybe I should try again, like in the game, it could be useful for dealing with the events. Such a pity, that I never took note of the dates in the game, so I have no idea when which events will unfold.  
I was always bad with remembering dates anyways…


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Initiation

* * *

On Monday morning the freshman initiation started. As I already know what will happen, I didn't bother to ask Virginia any questions.  
I wonder, if Damien will approach me, like in the game? Most certainly, I guess. Of all the routes I could avoid, I'll have to avoid Damien's route the most. He will try to get my soul otherwise after all. Though I should be safe, since I know what he's actually after. And it's hard for me to imagine, that I could act  
like a stupid goody-two-shoes enough, even if I would want to go on his route out of some masochistic whim or something.  
I may not be the most egoistic, self-assertive person, but I certainly do cherish myself and my well-being. While I still contemplate on how to act towards Damien, William already enters the stage.  
"Good morning, everyone! My name is William Danson and I am your incoming senior class president. But for the next week, half of you will be calling me Sir William. Welcome to the Freshman Initiation. …" I don't bother to keep listening to him, as I already know everything there is to know about this initiation.  
After his speech, we freshmen line up to announce our name on the stage. When I was sixteen, this would have made me nervous, but as I got older, my shyness decreased a bit. After receiving my Initiation Handbook, I curiously browse through it a bit.  
Learning all the names of our seniors will be quite difficult, as I'm bad at remembering names. I'm not sure, whether I will be able to…  
After the last freshman announced her name, William gets back to the stage and proceeds to explain to us, that we're about to become a senior's slave.  
After that the chaos erupts, as the seniors start to bully us with poking and yelling commands. A bit intimidated, I kneel down, in order to be 'not taller than a senior', while watching the other freshmen getting bullied. Someone sits down with her back to me. I take a quick glance – it's Ellen. Thought so.  
"You" I look up. In front of me stands Damien in the flesh. He gives me a charming, but also arrogant smile. His light-blue skin tone looks strangely natural on him, with his violet hair enhancing the colour. So weird, how him looking so exotic doesn't make him unattractive at all. He clearly doesn't look human after all, so why am I still able to appreciate his attractiveness? I thought I would be more against… interspecies love or whatever. But the magical world here is after all VERY open, when it comes to love. Maybe me finding him attractive is part of the game? I wonder, if I would still find him attractive, if I would be the old me from the old world.  
I don't like this thought. I don't want to be 'manipulated' by this game world. I hope it's just a natural ability of his or something like that, even though it doesn't make much of a difference. "Elise Ojousama. I think you should be mine." I think you should go f**** yourself, you handsome, goddamn demon.  
"Uhm, sure.", I answer, not showing how upset I am at him being handsome. "Stand up.", he commands me. I look at him reluctantly. "It's alright, you're with me. You don't have to worry about the rules if I am with you. Only what I say matters.", he misinterprets my reluctance.  
"Here, take my hand. I'll help you up." Damien stretches his hand towards me. Should I take it? If I don't use his help for standing up, he will shove me back to the ground and yell at me. But this way I would avoid his route. But then again, there are enough different opportunities to push him away and I don't want to be pushed down and yelled at. I decide to go with the flow and lie my hand in his and pull myself up.

With that Damien leads me out of the door, without causing a scene, while talking with me about how the rest of the week will look like and how I should study blue magic. Sometimes I feel like it doesn't matter, what I say, the people will more or less respond to me like in the game anyways, apart from a few, tiny adjustments. Like Damien suggested, I focus on blue magic this week, but also attend some black magic and green magic classes.  
Unlike in the game, you can attend up to 3 classes a day, with a class lasting 2 hours. And Professor Potsdam isn't teaching all black, green and white magic classes, she wouldn't have the time to do so anyways, but it is possible to avoid other teachers for attending these classes.  
Grabby also isn't the only one teaching red and blue magic, but avoiding him is still difficult, since he teaches most of the classes. He seems to be quite the workaholic, compared to Potsdam. Before my first magic class I wondered about how the classes will look like, since you can choose them yourself. Meaning the personal levels of the students in the subject vary extremely in the classes. This problem is apparently solved by teaching the students individual, everyone has to start at the beginning of the textbook and work through each chapters separately. While doing so, we have to practise the spells and the teacher will go around and correct us, and ask or answer questions. Furthermore, they will mention additional information from time to time, such as how to use the magical pronouns.  
That being said, the success of a class depends a lot on the student's self-discipline. We learn magic in a really independent way, which doesn't make it necessarily easier. If Grabby notice you slacking off during class, he will give demerits though.

After class I go towards Grabby nervously. I want to ask him about literature recommendations regarding magic, mainly about the magic world, since our textbooks are enough for learning about the different magic colours. I figured, that I don't want to stay an 'ignorant wild seed girl', but I had problems in finding books suitable for someone as uninformed as I. In my old university, all Profs would give book recommendations for the course, at the beginning of the semester. As Professor Grabiner LOVES to read books, he would be the most knowledgeable about which books to read anyways, so he should be the right person to ask.  
On the other hand, I have never seen Professor Potsdam with a book in hand, apart from the textbooks in class, so she probably wouldn't be much of a help. Furthermore, even though Grabby kind of despises students, he really wants us to learn, so I don't think he would deny my request and give me demerits or detention for asking. I clear my throat, as I approach his desk. He looks up and raises a brow at me, looking half quizzical and half glaring. I unconsciously start to fidget.  
"Uhm, Sir, I wanted to ask, whether you can recommend some books for wild seeds? I'd like to learn more about the magic world, since I feel a bit overwhelmed about coming here, but I couldn't find any books, which were comprehensible for someone knowing nothing about magic…." Against my will my voice grew more silent with every word. I'm an adult, goddammit. How can a teacher intimidate me so much? That doesn't make any sense. Well, I was never the most courageous person,  
when it came to authorities, even as a teenager I never really rebelled much. I mean I did sometimes act bitchy towards my parents, because of hormones and stuff, but apart from that… "Oh?" answers Grabby, probably surprised at my request. I say probably, because he is really hard to read.  
How can he be so temperamental and easily get angry, but still have such a good poker face? It doesn't make sense! "Well, wild seeds are a minority, being born with magic in a non-magical family is rare after all, so you should probably stick to children's books, as other books will overexert your mental capacity." So there are simply no books for wild seeds yet? Great. Also, did he really have to insult my mental capacity, just because I'm a wild seed? But then again, this IS Grabby I'm talking about, so I guess anything else would have been unnatural. "I see. Anyway, thank you." And with that I leave the classroom.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: A love letter

* * *

On my way back to my room, I meet Ellen and a female senior with short orange hair in the hallway. That must be this b*tch, Angela. "Lower, freshman!", yells the girl at her. "Yes, Lady Angela", answers Ellen, as she bends her knees. Wait- did they wait with this conversation for me? I should have gotten here earlier after all, if I wouldn't have stayed in class to ask Grabby for a book recommendation. And yet this event still unfolds timely.  
Angela also bends her knees and continues yelling at Ellen. "You're still too tall! Lower!" I helplessly watch the charade, unsure what to do, until this green haired girl with glasses finally steps in. Her name was Isabel or Isobel or something like that. After Isobel dealt with Angela, she comforts Ellen a bit before leaving.  
Everything went as expected. Maybe I should try more to act differently from the game. But it seems I would have to act out of character, for that to happen, and I suck at acting and lying, so… yeah. Sighing at myself I go towards Ellen. "You ok?" Quite similar to the character in the game, but I'm not heartless.  
"What? I'm fine. Everything's fine! Really.", Ellen answers. We go back to our room, where we meet Virginia, who asks us about how our freshmen initiation goes.  
"Fine, I guess? I haven't been bullied very much yet though", I answer, not sure whether I even fulfil the criteria, since I haven't been bullied at all, in fact.  
"It's a bonding experience!", Virginia answers. Is that even a fitting answer towards my comment? I get more and more the feeling, that it doesn't matter, what I say. "How else would you know that you'd grown up and become a real witch?" "Uhh, I don't know, by DOING MAGIC?", I ask a bit sarcastically.  
"Whatever. So, who'd you guys get for seniors?", asks Virginia, not minding my sarcasm at all. "I got Balthasar Brundrick. He likes plants. He really likes plants. I think he got moss growing on him." After I tell her, that I got Damien, Virginia exclaims, "Oh, no!" as expected. "Yeah, I know", I answer. Ellen looks quizzical towards Virginia. "He's evil.", Virginia explains. "What?", Ellen asks confused. "Yeah, I know", I repeat. "Why is he evil?", Ellen asks. "Look at him! He's a demon!", Virginia answers. "Does being a demon automatically make him evil?", I ask curiously, since I don't want to be racist against other magical beings. "Probably. There are a lot of dangerous creatures in the otherworld.", Virginia answers. Oh right, I forgot. She doesn't know herself. "What's the Otherworld?", Ellen asks.  
"Anywhere, that's not earth. Ask one of the professors, they can explain it better." "Well, Damien being a demon doesn't necessarily make him evil.", I add towards Ellen. "Well, look, he's obviously not full-human, right? He's not a wild seed like you. But when he turned up at school back then William was a freshman, nobody had ever heard about him before. So if he's from a magical family, how come nobody knows them?" It sounds a bit, as if one of the issues Virginia has with Damien, is that he doesn't look very human. Which is a strange thing to say for the friend of a FAIRY. Pastel is also obviously not human, but since they share the same skin colour and are childhood friends, its ok? "All magical families know each other?", asks Ellen. Virginia begins to explain how everyone knows usually someone, or at least someone who knows someone and I casually mention Pastel, to remind her a bit about her prejudice against non-human magical beings.  
But she doesn't notice my slight critique and just goes on about how they're childhood friends and stuff.

Later I lie in bed, unable to immediately fall asleep and think about how my day went. It's not like my answers have no influence on how my conversation goes, but in the end they stay awfully close to how they went in the game. Thankfully the game wasn't that detailed about the everyday life of the MC, otherwise I probably would go crazy from being able to predict everything what would be said. It is still strange to have the knowledge about certain events which will happen in the future. However, my memories about the game are strangely inconsistent, some dialogs I remember unnatural clearly, while other parts of the game are blurry.  
The main points of the game I can remember clearly, so I won't let my soul become Damien's power-up-snack. Though I don't think, that would've been likely. If I hadn't known about this game… which route would I have ended up on? Probably the 'unloved' end, it is the easiest to achieve after all.  
Well since I know how to achieve the ends… I probably will still go with the 'alone and unloved-route'. If I would have to choose a romance option….  
I might actually go with Grabby's path. I can't deny, that I feel a bit attracted to him. Damien is mental and dangerous, I'm not interested in girls, Big Steve is just weird and Donald is too childish for my taste. Well, my mental age is above my physical right now, and I preferred older men in my past life anyways.  
Not to mention he's smart and has such a lovely dark voice… Suddenly embarrassed about the fact, that I actually feel attracted to _Grabby_ , I bury my face in my pillow. So much about being mature. Not to mention I AM sixteen years old right now. I definitely won't try to go onto the Grabby-route. He is super-grumpy after all.  
I might run for treasurer, given the opportunity though. After all, so long as I don't rush into the magic circle, if I meet a collapsed Grabiner beneath a Manus, nothing could go wrong, right? I can't really explain, why I want to become the treasurer though. I mean, no one would like to wake up at 5 am, and even though I am a morning person, I'm no exception regarding that.

I felt slightly tired the next morning. After coming back from breakfast I ran into Big Steve. Big Steve doesn't seem to be so weird at first appearance, but due to my game knowledge I know, that he is one weird nutcase – in a charming way though. While I'm still impressed by his bright green afro, he mutters something about getting him a coffee right now. A bit excited about finally also being softly bullied by a senior, I hurry back into the direction of the cafeteria, when Damien suddenly stands in my way. He was leaning against the wall before. Oh right. This event was supposed to happen, when I was on my way to get coffee for a senior, huh. So that senior was Big Steve, huh. I hadn't noticed. Though his looks seemed unique in the game, his green hair is actually not that uncommon and afros aren't rare either, although they're not popular as well, to my relief. "Well, hello there, Elise.", Damien greets me. "Hi. I'm running an errand right now, so…", I half-heartedly try to shake him off, even though I know, that this excuse won't work. "What's the errand?", Damien asks. Why am I even trying? I seriously question myself. "Coffee for Big Steve." "Who do you belong to, me or big Steve?", Damien asks, smiling seductively to me. "… you.", I surrender. "Then I think you have time to talk. Don't worry, I won't bite. It's just that I've been thinking of you." Sure, you won't bite. You will try to CHEAT ME OFF MY SOUL, I sarcastically think. He rants on, about how he has to bully me, but wouldn't want to hurt me – Oh sure you wouldn't, unless, you could get my soul, of course – and finally commands me to write him a love letter.  
I surrender myself to doing so. I can get rid of my demerits that way, after all, by admitting, that it's my letter towards Grabby, even though that will be embarrassing.  
I really don't like having demerits. Besides, since I am properly attending the freshman initiation, I should go through with it.  
I don't like doing things half-heartedly after all. After classes I sit in front of my desk and stare at a blank piece of paper.  
To be honest, in my twenty-something years, I have never written a love letter. My romances went more with testing the waters and then, after determining, that the feelings were at least not completely one-sided, more or less confessing. "Are you doing homework?", Ellen asks. Oh hell no. I won't get advice from her for writing a love letter. "I just have to write a love letter, even though I have never done so before, no biggie.", I answer her casually. "A love letter?" "Not a real one, Damien just wanted to catch up on his bullying a bit." "Oh. Maybe you should just quote Shakespeare. Sonnets are romantic." I had to write a sonnet in school before, but I'm not sure about the exact structure anymore. "Won't really count as writing then, right?" "Sorry, I was never really good at creative writing. Oh I have an idea! You don't have to copy a famous poem exactly, but they still can give you suggestions. 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and temperate.' So… compare him to something. Something unusual." Well, totally ignoring her advice would be kind of rude, besides I REALLY have no idea what to write about.  
But I won't compare him to a goddamn knife or butter. Comparing people to butter is not romantic, but insulting in my opinion, anyways. I wonder in which way comparing Damien to butter makes me cuter anyways. Doesn't really make sense to me. "Uhh… your stature is like a tree… tall and strong? O gosh, that sounds awful. Oh no, better: your eyes are like coins- round." I giggle. Ellen smiles back at me. "Thanks for the suggestion, I will see, whether I find something suitable to compare him to.", I add more seriously. She did want to help me after all, and it does help me a bit. I contemplate a bit more, before I finish my masterpiece of a love letter:

 _Your voice intoxicating like wine,_

 _And so much sweeter than a ripe mango,_

 _Upon hearing it my heart dances tango,_

 _Oh, how I wish you were mine._

 _But all those words fail to describe,_

 _These feelings I tried to hide,_

 _As my poetry skills can only be called inadequate,_

 _And the debt of my feelings I could never acquit._

 _-Your 100% mysterious and secret admirer_

Ok. Alright. It's very, very embarrassing. Extremely cringy. So far so good. I decide, that this poem will not only be the first love poem I wrote, but also the last. The most embarrassing thing about this whole ordeal is probably the fact, that Grabby will read this sorry excuse of a poem. The thought makes me want to bury myself alive, but it's no big deal, right? It shouldn't matter, that I embarrass myself in front of him. Besides, I have the self-confidence of a grown woman. I fold the paper and stuff it into an envelope. Got to seal it with a kiss, huh? Whatever, if Damien actually notices, that the kiss is missing, I'll just pretend I forgot. Writing a poem, which will be read by other people is already embarrassing enough. Though sealing the letter with a kiss is less embarrassing. Though I don't have a nice handwriting, even though I'm a girl, I decide not to bother Ellen with copying the letter for me, so she won't get in trouble, in case my courageous leaves me in front of an angry Grabby.

The next day I can't help but feel nervous. Today is Wednesday, the 11th. Has my love letter for Damien 'accidently' already reached Grabby?  
Though I feel nervous the whole day, Grabby holds class like usual. Oh good, how I wish I would remember how many days later Grabby encounters the love letter. Well, I just had to wait for another day. The next day he frowns at his desk, after picking up a folded piece of paper, as if it would be sprinkled with mycobacterium leprae or something like that. He unfolds it, and begins to read it out loud. Oh right. He read it out loud. I should have written something more funny.  
"Would the author of this little missive care to identify him-or-herself?" I gulp. Alright here goes nothing. Slowly I raise my hand. "I was forced to… ",I begin. "Ah, Miss Ojousama.", he interrupts. "And do you expect me to be flattered by your childish affections?" I mentioned being forced, right? ARGH! It really doesn't matter, what I say, doesn't it?! "What?", I ask, still stunned by the fact, that he totally ignored, what I just said. "Ten demerits and detention this Saturday." I don't try to argue any further since I already know it's hopeless and quietly swear to myself, that I will kill Damien for this. Just because I knew this would happen, doesn't mean it won't make me angry. Though it does diminish my anger a bit, since I know, that it's something I've done to myself by agreeing to his request.  
"Silence!", Grabby yells towards my muttering and proceeds to throw me out of the classroom. I pack my stuff, ashamed about the whole ordeal, even though I knew it would happen. So much about being courageous in order to get my demerits back… Fuelled by my anger and shame I stomp towards the falcon dorms, trying my best to look as angry as I feel, with bloody determination. I finally found him. "Damien!", I yell as bloodthirsty as I can, channelling my inner vengeance demon and add, "Why the f**** did my 'love letter' for you end up in Grabby's desk?" without letting him greet me. "Thanks to you, I got humiliated in front of the entire class and got detention!", I complain, while pointing my finger at his chest. "Oh no", Damien reacts, as if he didn't know anything about this. "Elise, I'm so sorry…" I continue to stare at him in silence and scorn, trying my best in order to NOT look pitiful. I still have my pride, even though I just let myself willingly be humiliated, just to get some merits. "Oh, sweet girl…", he adds. Dammit. Sweet girl my *ss, why is it so difficult for me to be intimidating?! He sighs. "This is all my fault." Hell yeah, it is.  
"Of course", I pout. "It's different from what you think, what happened.", he denies, continuing with his lie about jealous guys stealing his letter. As if he would have guy friends he could brag about me with in the first place. Apart from his romances, he is quite the outsider after all. I try to act, as if I would believe him anyways and he promises me to clear up the misunderstanding with Grabby and I even thank him for it. Good thing I'm not good at being angry, otherwise my knowledge about his lying nature might have conflicted with my inability to act. He rattles on about being my senior and protecting me and stuff, and I even manage to smile while thanking him, since I managed to overcome the whole ordeal. To be honest, I totally underestimated how embarrassing this whole thing would be. How stupid of me.  
I guess, I thought I would be more resilient against this shameful feeling, since I don't care that much about how other people think of me and since this is 'just a game world' anyway. But to experience the embarrassment first hand is – of course – much harder to deal with. And after all these emotions I've gone through, this douchebag even dares to ask for a hug. Oh well, Damien the douchebag aside, I really need one. I'm still feeling shaky. The rest of the day I spend in my room, overlooking my notes and revising my spells again. I'm going to use my spare time for studying. I wonder, how I get more mana just by studying for a day…


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Partying and studying

* * *

The next day I wake up and look at the calendar. Friday the 13th. Since I know that, I stay calm, but Ellen fusses about it instead of me.  
So this conversation still happens, huh. Being woken up by Ellen, I don't want to stay in bed anymore. I decide to take walk through the halls, when I notice foot steps behind me. Must be Grabby, right? A lucky day indeed. I turn towards him. "Good morning, Miss Ojousama." "Good morning, Sir.", I answer calmly. "I… believe I owe you something of an apology." I just continue looking at him. "I did not give you the chance to explain your actions, because I believed that I already knew the reasons behind them. You may not be aware, Miss Ojousama, but it is considered a traditional Initiation 'prank' to order freshmen to proclaim their 'love' for me. The very thought of which fills them with horror.", he continues. "That must be terribly annoying.", I comment honestly.  
A small hint of surprise washes over his face. He looks so much better, then he isn't glaring or something like that. He clears his throat.  
"Since it was not your intent to disrupt my lessons, I will cancel your detention and return the ten merits I took from you. And another ten, for having the courage to admit that you had written the letter, and in apology for the lesson you missed out on." See, he is actually not that bad.  
He is just resentful, when it comes to students due to various reasons. He wants the best for them and is overly anxious about them making mistakes, which results in him being hated and more or less ostracised. "Thank you, Sir.", I answer with a small smile. Having him apologize to me makes me so… happy. Really happy. Way too happy. He is your professor, god dammit! You're sixteen years old right now! "Please do not feel, that this makes us 'friends', Miss Ojousama. It is simply a matter of redressing the balance.", he comments. "Yes, Sir.", I answer lightly. I know that becoming friends with him is impossible anyways, unless you're forced to marry him due to a failed experiment with a Manus, or something equally overly-dramatic.

In the next blue magic class, Grabby acts like normal again. After class we meet in the gym again, in order to be abducted to the End-of-Initiation-Bullying-party. Hopefully acting surprised won't be too difficult. Being abducted is kind of fun, at least, if you know you will be fine. After we arrive at our location, Damien takes off my blindfold. "Wha", I say, seeing the lake. It's really beautiful. I like being near the water, like big lakes or the sea.  
Damien cheerfully informs me about the freshman party and I look at the other students happily mingling together. I shouldn't spend too much time with Damien, he is dangerous after all, but going with him towards Ellen or Virginia will be awkward. And apart from my roommates, I don't really know anyone that much. I'm not that good at socialising, I should work on that… Besides that, I really, really want to take a swim. And so I decide to spend the time with Damien, playing around. But before that, Damien gives me a present. A mango. Well, I DID mention, that his voice was sweeter than a mango, and I prefer mangos over butter anytime.  
I guess he couldn't gift me wine, since I'm underage. Which is fine with me, I wasn't a big fan of alcohol anyways. Though I did drink from time to time, my alcohol consumption seemed to be far less, when compared to the other students at my university. To those thinking, that this means, that I was twenty-one or older, I'd like to remind you, that in Germany the legal drinking age for wine and beer is sixteen, and for 'harder stuff' its eighteen. So my true age still remains unknown.  
Funny, how I remember so many details about the game, and yet fail to remember my own goddamn age. My name was Louisa Müller by the name, which is such an ordinary German name, it could win a competition for being ordinary. While spending the afternoon playing around with Damien, I almost forgot, that he is kind of evil, since it is so much fun hanging around with him. In case of 'how to socialize' I can really learn from him, he is so open and entertaining. And I got to swim in the lake. It's interesting to swim in robes, reminds me of my childhood. I had to swim in a nightgown for some swimming badge once…

In the evening, I arrive completely tired at our dorm room. Before going to bed, Virginia, Ellen and I spend some time, chatting about freshmen party and stuff. It's a good thing that we get along so well, otherwise I probably would have been quite lonely. I wake up to our allowances being delivered the next morning. Apart from them, there is also a letter for me from my parents. It's a short letter, about how's it going for me and stuff. I don't know how to feel about it.  
Though I do have memories of them raising me, it's not like I still depend on them. I guess it feels nice, that they still think of me, and haven't forgotten me due to the memory spell of the academy, but at the same time, it reminds me about my parents in my past life. Though I'd like to think, that it is not really a past life, but that this is more something like a 'break' from my other life, to which I will return after the May Dance or so. I mean, this whole thing is too ridiculous, for it to be final, isn't it? Thinking about these depressing thoughts, I can't help but feel a bit homesick. Great. Argh whatever, time to visit the mall. I'm too depressed to study, some distraction will do me good. I arrive at the mall, only to stroll around a bit. I want to save some money for magical items. After arriving back at the academy, I decide to write my 'parents', so that they won't worry about me. Or even forget me. Mhm, what to write about? I guess I'm going to write about how well I get along with my roommates and how I study a lot. That should reassure them, that everything is fine. The next day I walk through the gardens with a book under my arm.  
It wasn't easy finding a book in this sorry excuse of a library, but I have high hopes, that it might interest me. I plan to read it somewhere in this campus-park, so that I can enjoy being surrounded by nature as well. The weekends are REALLY extremely boring here, without any electronic devices… I especially miss listening to music.

While looking for a nice place to sit down, I come across Damien. He looks at me oddly and ignores my greeting, to tell me, that he is not bored enough to spend time with me. I haven't asked to spend time with him, though, I only asked, what he was up to. Alright, another event. While he brushes past me without further notice, Virginia appears behind me. "I told you so."´, she tells me, even though I haven't said anything and agreed with her on Damien being evil from the beginning.  
"What?", I ask her a bit confused by her out-of-nothing-statement. "That he's evil" Sigh. I knoooooow! Better than you, actually.  
"I was just talking to my brother about him, to get the scoop.", she adds, even though I didn't ask her to. "He's a total womanizer. William says last year he left every sophomore in Butterfly Hall crying in the bath room at some point. He gets girl's hopes, when they then fall in love with him, he dumps them."  
"His womanizing skills are impressing, but I'm not dating him?", I answer slightly irritated about her intervention. But then again, considering Damien's aim, I guess I really should thank her for being such a caring friend. "The point is, he's a jerk.", Virginia concludes. Can't argue with that. "Forget you ever knew him. You'll be better off." Can't argue with that either. "Come on, let's go to the gym and play." Finally, something interesting to do. I abandon my book for now and follow Virginia to the gym. Having the opportunity to play sports so often, is really the only advantage of this academies leisure opportunities.

The rest of my weekend I spent mostly reading. On Monday morning Virginia finally mentions founding her sport club, and I immediately agree to join it, of course. For magic classes I choose classes from all colours, but focus on black and blue a bit. Blue and black magic match each other well and are the most useful in my opinion (at least for the exams), while green magic interest me, since it is about healing and stuff. I care about red and white magic the least, but I plan to raise my magic stats more or less evenly for now. Specialising in a certain type of magic only makes sense in the game, by actually attending Iris Academy, it doesn't make sense yet, as I don't even know, in which magic types I'm talented right now.  
On the Wednesday the 18th we sign up for clubs. Donald really is surprisingly good at singing. It's a pity, that there is only a choir, and no music club, as I really miss music, but I suck at singing. I actually used to play the clarinet in school, which was a conversation option for the MC on Grabiner's path. But since it's been some time, that I last played it, I probably wouldn't tell anyone. My 'avatar' also used to play the clarinet according to my memories. Coincidence? Or is it adapted to me? I look around the various clubs for a bit. Ellen already drags me towards Donald, before I can even decline. There is no way to avoid these events, huh?

On Thursday, I visit the sports club for the first time after classes. I'm a bit surprised myself at how good I am at running. I did a lot of gymnastics in my past life and also tried out various other sports, so I could've been considered athletic as well, but I was never that fast. Having contradicting memories surely feels strange.  
In the weekend I finally buy those glasses, to help me with studying in the mall. The rest of the weekend I spent reading books and walking around in the park.  
I also saw William playing with a ball and tried to ignore him consequently. But he noticed me and greeted me.  
Now, I can't simply pretend, that I wouldn't have heard him, since that would be rude, right? Reluctantly I walk over to him and also try to play with the ball, like he does. I don't like these events, they feel so strange… Apart from that, I also revised my spells a bit, putting my new, awesome, magical glasses to use. I have the feeling, that I am a lot more diligent than the average student at this academy, but I'm still very nervous about the first exams.  
I have tendencies to be good at studying but bad at practical application.

On Monday morning Ellen tries to interrogate Virginia about our first exam, but as expected, Virginia can't tell us much. I probably know more about it than her.  
I wonder, if the dungeons will really be like in the game? That would be kind of strange…  
Anyways, isn't it cheating, that I know so much about the exams already in that case? Not that I can help it. For classes this week I choose a mix of all colours again, but focus a bit more on blue magic than last week. During the week I have problems with sleeping, since Virginia has a lot of vivid dreams about her Brother William and octopuses and detonating bananas and stuff. Must be fun having so crazy dreams, but I wish she wouldn't talk so much in her sleep.  
On Thursday Grabby announces his study session, which I attend, of course.  
His questions seem to be a bit deeper about the nature of the different magic colours than in the game, and some students, who have focussed on their favourite subjects while neglecting the other types of magic, have problems with keeping up. "Miss Ojousama, give an example for a dual spell on a beginner's level and explain how to weave the two different magic types into one spell.", Grabby addresses me.  
I proceed to explain, how you can combine the spell 'Farsight' with 'Inspection', in order to safely examine potentially dangerous objects, or objects out of reach  
and how to simultaneously weave both spells, which is a lot more difficult than casting the spells individually, since a lacking form results in the magic interfering in itself, destroying the spell. Being able to concentrate is very important for the spells to function, with a tired mind difficult, or unfamiliar spells are impossible to master. And doing magic tires the mind, the more unfamiliar or the more difficult a spell, the faster your mind is exhausted.  
Therefore, practising the spells is very important, so that doing the spells gets easier and your control over them becomes more precise.  
Also you'll be able to do more complex versions of the spells, if you deepen your understanding of a spell.  
Grabby seemed to be satisfied with my explanations about the dual spell, as he simply nodded and turned to the next student, to ask him about how to combine two spells of the same magic type, called bi-spells, which are equally difficult, since you have to keep the overview about which part of the bi-spell belongs to which partial spell, though you won't have to worry as much about the spell collapsing due to magical interference, caused by the difference in colour.  
The division of magic into colours wasn't randomly decided, as humans like to categorize stuff, but is deduced from actual differences in the nature of the magic, such as the movements needed to draw the magic into a spell. About combining different spells, though we are already discussing the theory, we are still far away from actually doing so. Right now, learning how to uphold two spells at the same time, without combining them into one spell is already challenging enough.  
While Ellen answers Grabby on how to reinforce the casting of a spell, in order to increase its effectiveness, Grabby suddenly interrupts her, "Mr. Danson." "Yes, Sir?" "As you do not appear to need these revisions, you are excused. You may find more challenging material to occupy you this Saturday in detention.", Grabby yells at him. "Yes, Sir.", Donald answers, acting as if he would mind going to detention, even though this was probably his aim all along.  
He suffers from an attention deficit after all, due to his sickly twin sister Virginia. Childish, right? See, that's why I couldn't see him as a potential love interest.  
Though he is cute, and I hope this family conflict will be resolved, because it would be good for him. I wonder, what he did in order to get detention.  
Maybe I should have watched him, since I knew he would get detention for something. But then again taking notes is more important.  
After study session I go straight to my room to relax. It was really strenuous, but now I have a good feeling about the exam tomorrow.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: First exam and first love

* * *

I wake up to a knock on the door the next morning. I get into my robe and open the door, to meet Professor Potsdam. She looks cheerful as always.  
"Joyous morning to you, Elise", she chirps. "Good morning." She hands me our exam schedules and explains to me where to find the 'examination rooms'. After that she waves good bye and walks whistling to the next room. She really has such a cheerful nature; it's quite annoying sometimes.

After class I arrive in front of the door, which will certainly teleport me into the dungeon. I take a deep breath and touch the handle. As expected I find myself in a dark room, somewhere deep underground. A voice gives me the instructions, the source of the noise hidden. Jup, so far it's exactly the same as in the game.  
I wonder, if I will land in a tree, if I attempt to teleport myself? Or will I simply fail? I haven't done so before, but I'm far enough in my blue classes to do a serious attempt. I decide to attempt teleportation, since I'm unable to do something else anyways… I wonder, how high the tree will be?  
Blue magic envelopes me and a moment later I can see the blue sky in front of me. Wait, why can't I see any leaves or stuff like that? I look down and… see the ground, which I'm approaching faster by the second, since I didn't land in a tree, but – up high in the sky! I shriek, while falling down.  
Suddenly Grabby appears beneath me and catches me. "Miss Ojousama, are you alright?", he asks me. He looks panicked, but soon composes himself. "I had not expected you to be capable of a full-body teleport at this stage. I should have given you better safety instructions. My apologies, Miss Ojousama.", he continues, while putting me down. A 'full-body-teleport'? Does that mean, I could have accidently only teleported a part of my body? Anyways, I'm really happy, that he caught me. "Ah, thank you, Sir. I'm alright…", I answer a bit flustered. "Indeed. You have succeeded with distinction. Ten merits to you." Nice.  
"In future exams the dungeons will be warded to prevent exit by teleportation, so do not expect to replicate your success so easily." After he finished his sentence, Potsdam appears. "Hieronymus! Is everything alright?" "It's fine. You may go, Miss Ojousama." And with that I guess I aced my first exam. Well, maybe I didn't ace it, but close enough.

The next day I chatted with Virginia and Ellen about the exam, before we went to the mall, where William treated us to a cookie, in order to celebrate our first exam. Nice, I love sweets. The Sunday I spent mostly in the gym. Sport is really the only way to fight my boredom… at least I get fitter due to this.  
On Monday morning Virginia asks us whether one of us want to run for treasurer. I hesitate. I kind of want to, since I'm really bored…  
But maybe I shouldn't spend too much time with Grabiner. I'm already less afraid of him than at the beginning and want to get to know him, because I really enjoyed playing his route, however it could lead to unpleasant events. Such as getting forced to marry him. Although all I have to do is not rushing into the wards to save him, so I should be safe. About getting up early, I won't have much problems with that. I don't sleep well since coming here and often wake up way too early.  
Nonetheless, I don't feel sleep-deprived. I'll think about it…

Like a shark having picked up the scent of blood in water, Virginia noticed my interest in the treasurer position and tried to persuade me to do it all the time the following week. This week I concentrate a bit more on green magic, while still also visiting the other magic classes. Then I go back to our room after classes on Monday, I witness Virginia and Ellen arguing over a box. Must be the 'cat poop'-box from Donald. He takes doing pranks quite seriously, doesn't he?  
After I deliberated the whole week whether or not to run for treasure, I finally decide to do it on Friday. Then Virginia hears, that I decided to run for it in the evening, she is naturally overjoyed. After she left, in order to annoy Jacob about it, Ellen and I contemplate her strange enthusiasm.  
I have to admit, if Virginia wants someone other than Jacob to do the job, she really should just run for herself, Ellen is definitely right about that.  
I guess, Donald is also right about her being spoiled. While Ellen inquires my opinion about whether or not William would help us in our campaign for treasurer,  
I can't help but tease her a bit about liking William, "Why so interested in William? You interested in him?" Of course she is, I wonder, if she will blush. "What? No!" Wow, your acting skills suck, Ellen. "Maybe." Thought so. She flops on her bed with a sight. "… Yes?"  
I think about how to answer her. In the game the player had 3 possible choices:

1) There's nothing wrong with that 2) That's not a good idea and lastly 3) You can't have him, he's mine!

I really want to go with the third option, but then Ellen would naturally hate me, and I'm not insensible enough to tease a poor girl in unrequited love.  
That being said, I think it's time to think outside of the box. Just to see, how the game would react. So neither it's a good idea, nor that's a bad idea.  
"So, uh, what do you like about him?" "He's cute, he's responsible, he's a good student… but he is also popular, unfortunately." "Well, him being popular shouldn't matter, right?", I comment absent-mindedly. "But he could have every girl he wants!" Just because someone is popular, doesn't mean that everyone wants to be in a relationship with that someone though. No matter how popular you are, you could still get idol-zoned, couldn't you? Apart from the fact, that a person loved by all doesn't exist. "So?" "He never would want a girl like me. Guys want someone pretty, who like make up and dancing and pouts until she gets her way." That's quite the generalization she does here. I never wore make up in my past life, and still managed to get more than one boyfriend.  
Well, I always had only one boyfriend at the time, of course, and in between my boyfriends was often quite the time gap, but hey, I WAS attractive to some, without make up, or behaving overly girly. Though my partners were all weirdos. I also doubt, that the girly girl Ellen is trying to describe would fit Grabby's taste.  
Or William's. Or Donald's. I don't know about Damien's taste, he seems to like someone, who adores him, no matter what he does to this poor someone, but apart from that? To conclude, her statement is downright false. "Jenny is not even thirteen yet, and she already got boys chasing after her.", Ellen pouts. "Boys just think of me just as- a rock with hair! A useless fuzzy lump." That's some serious self-confidence issues she has here. But I guess that's part of puberty. Well, a lack of self-confidence definitely won't help with finding a partner, that's obvious. "William is nice. He would never… But he would never….", Ellen mutters.  
Sigh. So the game interpreted my 'neither-supporting-nor-obstructing-attitude' as supporting, huh. Well, works for me. I refuse to tell her to go confess to him, when it's obvious, that her feelings are one-sided. I simply don't think, that that is really how love usually works. But then again, I might be just strange and different.  
"Well, you should try to find out, what kind of feelings he has for you. He might or might not like you in that way. If he just sees you in a sister-type of light, you should give up, as you won't be able to change that" Trust me, I've been there. "But if he has romantic interest in you, then you can work with that and try to get closer to him." I hope, my advice will help Ellen a bit with overcoming her one-sided love, without hurting her feelings too much.

On Saturday I go to the mall with Ellen and play a few games in the arcade. Virginia also visits the mall, but spends more time in the food court, munching on sweets. I wonder how much Virginia would weight, if she wouldn't do sport. It's hard to tell, since muscles have a higher density than fat. When we come back to our dorm room, another box is lying in front of our door. Virginia immediately suspects another 'present' from her lovely brother, but as I know, that it is just apple cake from Damien, so I open it without hesitating. I decide to eat the cake together with my roommates, I don't want to get fat after all. And I love cake, so throwing it away would be too wasteful. Also it's good for getting closer. Ellen and Virginia are growing on me. Sure, they have their flaws, for example Virginia is extremely spoiled, but so do I, which is why not many people approached me in school. And I suck at approaching other people, so I usually only hung out with weird people – weird seems to be defined as 'normal' here, so I feel really comfortable here.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Vote for the cherry!

* * *

On Monday morning (October the 7th) I sit in my bed and brush my hair, when I hear a knock on the door. "Miss Ojousama, if you please?"  
Excitedly I jump from my bed to the door and step outside to Professor Grabiner. "Good morning, Sir", I greet him a bit shy, since I didn't expect him.  
"Is there a problem?", he asks me. I'm kind of confused. "... No?" Am I BLUSHING? No my cheeks might feel a bit warm, but I'm definitely not blushing! I'm a grown woman, god dammit. But his voice sure sounds nice… Especially early in the morning. He sighs. Have I done something wrong?  
But he just hands me a folder with the title 'Election protocol'. "You will review these documents and meet me after class today to discuss your campaign strategy. Unless you'd prefer to forfeit now and save us both the trouble." Nope, definitely not. "No, Sir." "Very well, then. Good day to you.", he bids good bye and disappears into the direction of Falcon hall, probably in order to meet Jacob Blaising.

Now when, about my strategy, I should definitely offer free hugs I guess. I also have enough money for posters and paper badges, which should be enough.  
As for a glorious name to promote my greatness… I think I should go with something weird, but not Lady Lampshade Head, since I have a small aversion against the game choices. How about the cookie queen? But then I should give out free cookies as well, but I can't afford that.  
The tooth fairy? Some fairies might feel offended… Which is a pity, since the tooth fairy leaves money under pillows in exchange for milk teeth, so it would be a fitting name for a treasurer, since the jobs are quite similar.  
Or maybe… Mademoiselle cherry-hairdo? My hair has the colour of dark red yummy cherries after all. It might not be weird enough, but it would help in leaving an impression, which is my main goal, since my hair colour is a good trait to recognize me by. Though it's true, that many students have bright hair colours, but those bright hair colours are not a rarity in this academy. I have yet to see another person with the same dark-red hair as I, but I can't recall any of those bright hair colours as unique. As a logo I can use the picture of a cherry. Such a pity, that there are no cherries in October, otherwise I could give out some for publicity instead of cookies. Since I have to write a speech and go through the folder given to me by Grabby, I only attend one of his blue classes today.

After class I arrive in the empty campus room and spread out my documents. Professor Grabiner enters the room after a while.  
"Would it be too much to hope, that you have already made your decisions?", he asks me. Before I can answer him, William storms into the room.  
Ugh, great. How to shoo him away in the best way? I just want to do this on my own. It feels wrong being baby-sat by Virginia's big brother.  
At least Grabby couldn't care less about this campaign and won't try to interfere.  
"Just a minute! Sorry to burst in, sir. I'd promised my sister; I'd serve as Elise's campaign manager. You don't have to stay." No, you don't have to stay, William.  
"I know how much you have to do. I can talk her through the steps and deliver the requisitions to you later." Professor Grabiner raises an eyebrow.  
"Is this what you want, Miss Ojousama?", he asks me. "I don't remember hiring a campaign manager. I know Virginia just wants to help, but I'd prefer doing this alone, I'm the one running for treasurer after all, and not Virginia. So thank you, for your kind offer, William, but I am afraid I'll have to decline it." Also, I prefer working with Grabby, he's more my type you know? Well, through a shallow point of view at least. Though William is also good looking, I can really understand why Ellen fell for him. "Interesting. However, a leader is wise to take advantage of the resources made available for her." "Well, since I can only choose one resource, I'd rather go with the one which will aid me, instead of leading me. Otherwise I couldn't be called a leader anyways, could I?" He chuckles a bit at that remark.  
Somehow it makes me really happy. My cheeks feel a bit warmer… William looks at me, first surprised and then suddenly with a knowing smile.  
Great, he will tell Virginia that I would have a crush on Grabby. Which is not true. Well, maybe a bit. "Well... I suppose I'll be on my way, then.", William comments. Before leaving he winks at me. You…don't go gossiping to Virginia about weird stuff! Well, he's gone now anyway, so I guess I can't change it now.

And I'm alone again with Grabiner. "Well, then. As you should be aware, that I need from you at this point is a decision about the theme elements of your campaign. It is traditional for candidates to adopt a ludicrous nickname in the hopes of associating positive virtues with themselves in their voters' minds. This slogan and the associated imagery will be used to design any marketing materials you requisition. The school will create and reproduce these items for you. Have you decided on such a name?" I fidget a bit. "I think I'll go with 'Mademoiselle Cherry-hairdo'" "Mademoiselle… Cherry…" He looks surprised. That's good, right?  
So it should be weird enough, right? "Well, all campaign nicknames are ludicrous, right? I don't think I would leave much of an impression, if I choose something so generic. And since my dark red hair IS an eye-catching trait of mine, a name which emphasizes it, will help me more in leaving an impression, than one of those standard campaign names. Since it's a weird name, it's more memorable anyways. For a campaign to be successful, one needs the attention of the voters in the end. ", I explain. "Interesting. And what marketing articles do you want to order? While the school will acquire the items for you, you must bear the cost out of your own pocket." A small hint of curiosity can be seen in his expression. It might be just my imagination though. "Posters and badges in bright green with cherries, of course. That's all I can afford for now, but it should be enough. Being too lavish and wasteful, would be bad taste for a treasurer anyways, right?" He nods slightly.  
"They are a waste of resources, of course, but they are traditional. Tradition can be the deciding factor."

After everything is set, he bids me good bye with a small smile. So nice, makes me feel refreshed. I go back to my room in a good mood, humming a pop song.  
The next morning my campaign materials arrive, and Ellen and Virginia help me with setting the posters up and distributing the badges.  
The badges are Cherries with my name on it, which you can pin on your robe. While they are cute, so that girls will like wearing them, they're not girly, so that the boys won't mind wearing them as well. We catch a bit of attention, due to my unusual name, so I guess it was original enough.  
I wonder, if 'Lady Lampshade-Head' would have gotten more attention? A day later, on Thursday, Virginia suddenly approaches me.  
"Is it true?" Is what true? What are you talking about? You think I can read your thoughts or something? We can only cast 'Empathy'… "Is what true?", I ask politely. "You! And Professor Grabiner!" I get what she is trying to ask me now, but decide to act dumb for now. So William, that old tattletale finally gossiped about the incident in the conference room, huh. "William said you ditched him, because you wanted alone-time with the professor and were practically flirting with him!" Whoa, hold your horses there. Professor Grabiner is not the kind of person you can 'flirt' with. Holding a friendly conversation with him is already difficult enough, almost impossible for a student. "That is so absurd, I can't even believe you would ask that. ", I answer honestly. "Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating just a little bit. That's not the point. Elise, do you have a crush on Grabby?" Ugh. Well, I don't think it's that bad? I only like his looks and his voice after all. Okay, keep calm and try to… change the topic?  
"I don't know, what you're talking about. Hey, have you heard about Jacob's campaign? He uses the 'Blazing Fire'- Slogan, how boring. He isn't really creative, huh." Virginia stares at me. "But he's horrible!" Ok, so she is just going to ignore my miserable attempt at changing the topic?  
The game's influence is strong in this event, huh. "He's grumpy", I correct her out of instinct. Damn you game-fate-thingy. Someday, I will change one of the possible outcomes of an event, just you wait! I would promise, but I don't want to lose my magic… "He picked on you, on your very first day of school!", Virginia counters.  
"He picks on every student upon meeting them.", I argue. "It's not like I'm in love or anything, I just respect his intellect. I also enjoy listening to his voice… ", I stop myself from continuing. Too late. "Eeeeew", Virginia reacts, as expected. "Well, have it your way." Great, now she thinks I would've a crush on Grabby.

On Wednesday morning, the next day, campaigning is in full swing, and all the candidates have taken position in the campus gardens. Chaos ensures, as everyone tries to get some attention. I did my hair into a bun and stuck a grass stalk into it, to imitate the stem. This weird 'cherry-hairdo' should help me in getting some attention. Oh god, I feel like an attention-wh***. I clear my throat and braze myself for my ultimate attention-seeking cheat-weapon. Oh gosh, this is going to be embarrassing. "Free hugs! Free hugs!", I shout. Luke stops and stares at me in surprise. "…What?" I bravely proceed to give him a good hug.  
God thing I'm used to body contact with strangers. When I was a teenager, I tried out all kinds of sports, among others sumo wrestling. I only did it for a few months or so, mainly because the German female sumo wrestling community is pretty much non-existent.  
However, those few months were enough for me to stop minding body contact too much. "Vote for me!", I ask him cheerfully. "Uhm... okay.", he answers, slightly blushing. Cute. Good thing, I didn't create a weird avatar, otherwise this strategy might have failed. Pastel immediately appears beside him. She's such a flirt.  
"Oh, did I hear someone say free hugs?", she asks. I detach my arms from Luke in order to hug her but stop for a second due to her wings. Somehow I end up placing my arms on her hips – she's a crafty one – and feel her slightly moving her hips against mine. Alright, she definitely has guts. Such a pity, that it's not enough to make me lose my composure. "Vote for me?", I ask, maybe not 100% calm anymore, but still calm. "Perhaps", she answers flirty. I'm surprised about how many people want to hug me. Some of them aren't even freshmen, juniors, sophomores and seniors also come to hug me.  
You can't even vote for me! Why do you want to hug me? Oh well, whatever. This school really IS open about love. Not that I would particular mind that.

On Friday the elections finally take place and everyone meets in the gym. I'm a bit anxious about my speech, since I used to be quite shy, but I have practised my speech a lot, which gives me confidence. I used to be good at doing presentations, despite my shyness, since it was only a problem in an unknown situation and with unknown people. Now that I have 'adapted' to this academy and feel at home here a bit, things should be better. After Jacob's speech, it is finally my turn.  
I walk up the podium and calmly smile. "Hi, I'm Elise Ojousama, and I'm running for treasurer. I'm confident in my math abilities and will do my job diligently, so that you will get your allowances on time. In order to raise more money through our fundraisers, I will innovate with new events, so that we will be able to afford the things you deserve. I don't mind taking responsibility and will fulfil my job maturely. Thank you for your attention please vote for Mademoiselle Cherry Hairdo." I do a small bow and leave the stage, while everyone applauds. I have a good feeling to be honest, but since my decisions differ a bit from the game, it should be possible, that I lose.  
I vote for Minnie, since she will win anyway and she will do a good job as well, until Kyo starts to stress her out.  
Which reminds me, maybe I should warn her about him. And for treasurer I vote for myself, of course. It's embarrassing to vote for yourself, but in the game the players vote had significant influence on the result, so better safe than sorry, I guess.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: The second exam and an invitation

* * *

After the vote we assemble in the gym again. Aaand I have won. Yei . I wonder, if Jacob is disappointed.  
I wonder if Jacob would've been forced to marry Grabiner, if he would've won, and the player and the student body simply never found out. But I doubt that.  
He probably would've called Potsdam, without losing his cool. He seems to be rather composed, besides he cares more about Minnie than about Grabby.

In the evening I meet with Grabiner in the conference room. "So, you were successful." "Yes, Sir", I answer him cheerfully. "Very well, take these keys and report here at 5 am tomorrow morning, to begin your duty." "Yes, sir.", I answer, a bit less cheerful. I'm a morning person with sleeping-problems anyways, otherwise I wouldn't have accepted. "So you were aware, what your duties involve and still wanted to run for the position?", he asks a bit perplex about my calm. Is that unusual?  
"Well, you were given the information ahead of time after all." "...Right." The folder really isn't the reason as to why I know about my duties, but oh well.

I wake up at 5am the next day, without problems. After dragging myself to the dorm bath, I just brush my teeth and my hair, before I head to the post office.  
I unlock the door with the key given to me by Grabiner and start preparing the student's allowances. Write the students name on the envelope- fill the envelope with 5 dollars- close the envelope. Somehow this seems inefficient to me. Maybe I should prepare the envelopes beforehand. I just need to take care, that a missing letter wouldn't lead to a missing allowance. After the allowances are prepared, I have to sort the post, to deliver it together with the allowances.  
After I finished up with this strenuous task, I take a nice, relaxing shower. After showering I return to my room to revise my spells a bit. I work best in the morning, even more so, as it's still quite. Soon Ellen and Virginia also wake up, Ellen way before Virginia, of course. Since everyone's awake now, I stop revising my spells and relax the rest of the day, by reading a book. Or at least I'd like to, but the book really doesn't interest me at all. Otherwise I would've read it already after all. Frustrated I head back to my room and grab paper and some pencils. I'm not exactly good at drawing, but I like doing it.  
Besides, it's a good exercise for concentration, which on the other hand is needed for becoming a good magician. I sit down in the park and try to draw the scenery, ignoring the other people, while humming a wordless melody to myself.

On Sunday Jacob storms into the gym, while we're playing there, and tries to persuade us, to use magic while playing. I know, that only chaos would ensure, if we would actually agree to his proposal, so I agree with Virginia. At the beginning it seemed, as if Kyo would be on Virginias side, but then he sided with Jacob, like in the game. I wonder whether he already sees Jacob as a threat and wants to use the opportunity to 'accidently' hurt him, but then again he really doesn't seem to dislike Jacob yet. The next week I go to classes as usual, focussing a bit more on blue magic again. Because I like blue magic. Also I want to decorate our ceiling with an illusion. On Friday Minnie finally invited me to her study sessions, so I spent a part of my Saturday trying out her study sessions.  
Minnie is good at explaining and has different priorities set, so we complement each other well. Looks I became more of a workaholic since coming here, which is mainly caused by my boredom. Though I had those tendencies even before attending Iris academy, just like my parents.  
Good thing, I used the Saturday for catching up with my studies, since the next exam is on Friday, as Virginia informs us on Monday.  
This week I decide to focus on black magic. On Friday I head towards the 'examination room' in order to be teleported into the dungeon. I'm not really nervous,  
since I know more or less how the dungeon will look like. But when I open my eyes after being teleported into the dungeon, I don't see any abyss in front of me. I only see a bit of the earthy floor, apart from that I can't see the walls of this dungeon. The ceiling of the dungeon glows lightly, not enough to see much, but enough, so that I'm not completely covered in darkness. I use green magic to enhance my eyes, to take a closer look into the dungeon. Still no abyss in sight.  
Maybe this dungeon differs from the game? I venture into the dungeon, while using black magic in form of Inscription from time to time, in order to avoid losing my orientation. The dungeon has a natural shape and soon I stand in front of a deep abyss, next to it lie some pile of rocks. Not so different from the game anymore.  
I already have searched the other directions, and therefore know, that the other paths are all deadlocks. In one of these deadlocks I found the stone bridge, and I decide to use the blue teleportation magic, in order to cross the abyss. I could also strengthen my body and jump over it, but to be honest, that's a bit scary for me. Maybe I don't fit into horse hall, I don't seem to be very adventurous. After inspecting the side a bit more, so that the teleportation will be successful, I leave for the bridge. Due to my inscriptions, I have no problems with finding the bridge again, even though I'm not good with orientation.  
Inscription is really useful in real life, in contrast to the game. After carefully weaving the teleportation spell for the bridge, I head back to the abyss.  
The bridge covers the abyss perfectly, the teleportation spell was a success. Once on the other side I turn down my eye-sight to normal, as I blink into the bright light at the end of the stairs. Outside Potsdam is already waiting for me, in order to congratulate me and gives me 5 merits. Nice. Feels good to ace an exam.  
To be honest, it WAS fun to test my magical abilities. I can't wait for the next exam.

On Saturday I decide to visit the mall like Virginia. As soon as we arrive, Virginia starts looking around wildly, instead of heading straight to the arcade or a café´, like she usually does. Turns out, she's looking for a birthday present for Donald. I suggest her to buy an instrument or something like that. I'm not creative enough in finding presents in order to suggest her something else than the game's choices, so I don't even try this time.

On Sunday Minnie talks to me about the Dark Dance. I already know a bit about the Dark Dance due to the game, but my memory is quite blurry regarding that part, so I decide to consult with Grabiner first. Maybe I can find more about it, than in the game. Yes, I know. I'm totally following Grabby's route right now.  
But so long as I don't cross the wards, should I see him collapsed on the floor underneath a Manus, nothing will happen. And I have enough confidence in myself, that I will avoid sacrificing myself to a Manus, since I already know, that this situation might occur. That being said, I head out to find Grabby.  
I finally find him in some of the classrooms, sitting at the desk and scribbling in his book. I knock at the door. "Excuse me, Sir?" He looks up to me. "Can I help you, Miss Ojousama?" "I have to authorize some funds for the Dark Dance, but I don't know anything about it.", I answer him. He closes his book and clears his throat.  
"You are familiar with the traditions of All Halloweens, and the festivals for the dead?", he asks me. "Well, I do know a bit about Halloween…", I answer.  
"Many cultures hold that at this time of year, the boundaries between our world and the Otherworld grow thin, allowing spirits and monsters to pass the veil. The Dark Dance is a custom in which spirits are invited to take part in celebration with mortals as their equals. It is held in the dark –thus its name- so than no one can see, who or what is in attendance. Do not attempt to get around this provision. Spirit folk are bound by many rules. Those who break the rules are punished harshly."  
"Yes, sir.", I answer. "The ceremony will take place on Halloween night and last until 3. Classes are cancelled on the following day, to allow time to recover. As for the choice of incense, I have no particular expertise, you should consult with Miss Cochran." I bid goodbye and go find Minnie. I wanted to ask more questions, but he really looked reluctant to further the discussion. Maybe I simply should've agreed with Minnie. On Tuesday I witness Virginia giving her present to Donald. As expected. Even though we have completely different classes today…

On Wednesday an expected catastrophe happens. Damien tries to re-establish contact to me, by pinning a pink card on our dorm door. Ellen notices the card of course first, while she tiptoes around the topic on whether she should ask William out to the dark dance. I sigh, while looking at the card.

 _Dear Elise, Please don't throw this away. I know I deserve it. I've been terrible to you. You deserve better. I should have told you what was going on. Please meet me tomorrow before the Dark Dance and I will explain everything._

Oh no, Damien wasn't terrible to me. Not yet. But he sure will be, if I give him the chance. And a pink card. Seriously? It doesn't suit him, in my opinion.  
Maybe I'm just racist/sexist, but pink is not the colour of choice, I expect from a male devil. But wait. In the game, an event in which Damien attacks a student will unfold, whether the player meets up with him, or not. Maybe, I should meet him, just so I can protect this other student?  
But he would attack me and I would lose 'magical power' either way. And I prefer another person losing 'magical power' over me losing 'magical power', sorry.  
Apart from that, I really want to go to the Glen, even if it is with Damien. Should I act along, until then? So long as I don't meet him in the gym at night, it should be fine, right? I should be able to distance myself enough from him after that, shouldn't I? Ok, I'm not a horse for show, I'll take the challenge and 'get along' with Damien. For the food! Finally, it's Halloween. I wonder, if attending the Dark Dance will be fun. I like dancing, and I miss music. Since it's a dance, there should be music, right? But before I can enjoy myself, I'll have to meet Damien.

Damien tells me the expected lies, about how he pushed me away, in order to protect me or something. I pretend to listen, while thinking about how to best act towards him. I don't want to lead him on, after all, but I do want him to go for me enough, to treat me to dinner. In the meantime, Damien finally reached the point, where he asks me, whether we could still be friends. Ugh, how to answer? "I don't know… I guess? You mentioned, that you pushed me away, since we were becoming friends and you couldn't deal with that, could you even deal with that now?" "I see. I I'll have to think about that.", he answers and disappears, after wishing me to enjoy the dance. So it was interpreted as the not-if-you-can't-trust-me-option, huh. Makes sense. Since that's dealt with for now, time to join the Dark Dance.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: The Dark Dance

* * *

The gym is enveloped in darkness, as expected, and I can feel the sound of the drums reverberating in my body. The air is filled with the scent of pine sap and evergreen. A small breeze is blowing, enhancing the feeling of being in the woods. As a witch/wizard, being afraid of the dark really is not feasible, I guess.  
I move a bit around in the gym while moving to the rhythm of the drums. Not bumping in people is impossible. I wonder, if I also bumped in a spirit, apart from other students? As the middle of the gym is too crowded for my taste, I move closer to the walls. As I finally found a place to stay for now, I start actually dancing.  
Since its dark in here, I pay no attention towards whether my dancing looks silly or would be considered inappropriate. Not that anything would be considered inappropriate in this academy of free love anyways. Suddenly someone bumps into me, resulting in me stumbling a bit back and bumping in another person myself. While e bumped into me, I had felt e's hands shortly on my chest. Sexual harassment or accident? "I'm sorry, are you hurt?", I hear a sweet voice chirping… Pastel?! Now I doubt, that it was a pure accident. "I'm alright…", I answer, hesitating whether I should mention her accidental sexual harassment or not. I turn around to the person behind me. "I apologize for bumping into you. I hope you're unhurt?" The other person mumbles something, but I can't understand it, since the drums are so loud. "Oh, Elise, it's you? It must be fate that I bumped into you. I wanted to dance with you", Pastel flirts. "If bumping into people means you're fated, then I'm fated to be with a lot of people, since a third of the student body already bumped into me tonight.", I answer dryly. "Oh, well, if you don't want…" Pastel sounds a bit disappointed. Was I too harsh? "Then I will wait for the next chance to dance with you… Until then" The last words she whispers into my ear. Ok, I wasn't harsh enough.

After the dance finished, I immediately go to sleep, like everyone else. It sure was tiring, but also fun. Good thing we get to sleep in the next day.  
The next morning Ellen acts strange. Well, she got rejected from William yesterday after all. Virginia is of course clueless and asks her, "What's up." "Nothing. Just… the dance.", Ellen answers. "Hmmm. Did Ellen have a date?" Virginia is really bad at reading the atmosphere. Ellen is immediately close to crying. Good job, Virginia.  
"Whoa. I'm sorry!" Uh… are you okay? What happened?" Well, obviously Ellen is NOT ok, Virginia. You're really clueless, when it comes to love.  
Ellen tries not to cry and sniffs. "Nothing." Why do you even try to act, if you suck at it so hard, Ellen? "Uhm… that doesn't look like nothing.", Virginia answers.  
See, even clueless Virginia doesn't fall for this. "Nothing happened. Nothing ever will happen. He said… because of you…" Virginia looks at her, her expression half surprised and half doubting. "Wait, what? Me?" After her answer Ellen bursts out about how due to her being a roommate of Virginia's, he would see her as a sister. Out of the two brothers Virginia has, she manages to epically fail in concluding about Ellen's love interest, even though she ought to know, that William is more lovable than Donald. Virginia herself prefers William by far after all. I can't believe how clueless she is. "No, William of course. Seriously, it's so obvious, that it is about William and not Donald…" Though Ellen will fall for Donald after this, unless I would've gone for him. Virginia mentioning William's super-bitchy ex Angela after that, obviously doesn't comfort Ellen. Seriously Virginia, be more sensitive!  
Virginia finally actually tries to comfort Ellen, by mentioning, that William wouldn't have wanted to hurt her – duh – but she is unsurprisingly not very good at it. I sigh. What should I do? In the game the player had 3 choices:

1) About William… 2) Change the topic and 3) Let it go.

Ellen doesn't look like she wants to talk about it and Virginia is bad with love stuff anyways, so I guess I shouldn't try to pry any further into what happened between the two. At least not for now. As for 'thinking outside of the box', I can't think of anything which couldn't be counted under any of the three options.  
Maybe I'm losing my creativity or simply starting to give up. "Well, since we found out that Ellen has a crush on William and Virginia assessed, that I would have a crush on Grabiner, I wonder, who does Virginia like?" Virginia turns to me. "I don't like any boys."  
Well, this is the school of free love, it doesn't have to be a boy, you know? "I never said it had to be a boy?" Virginia shrugs. "No. I don't like anybody that way."  
"Why not?", Ellen asks. That isn't really a question about 'why' though? Love simply happens – or not, you know? "Maybe I have high standards?"  
I do an exaggerated thinking-pose. "Maybe you're unsatisfied with your taste and simply refuse to acknowledge your feelings?" Virginia chuckles.  
"That makes no sense at all." Oh right, now is my chance for 'thinking outside of the box' "I bet your type is… Raven?"  
"Noooo! Okay, there is a serious rule. Whoever I eventually like, they have to be not afraid of sunlight!" I shrug. "Sounds simple enough. Other preferences apart from that?" Virginia acts as if she would be seriously thinking it over. "Uhm. No nerds. Sorry Ellen." Ellen folds her arms. "Well, I didn't want to go out with you anyway." "And what more? Slender or buffed?", I pry further. "Why would that matter?", Virginia asks. "Dancing?", Ellen adds into the interrogation. "Slow dancing is boring."  
We keep playfully interrogating her like that for a while. Well, that didn't differ from the game at all, but Ellen cheered up a bit, and that is more important for me right now.

I deliberated whether to prepare the allowance envelopes for tomorrow today, but in the end I decided against it. The risk of not noticing a missing envelope, and thereby a missing allowance, is too great. I can't afford to make such mistakes. Apart from my treasurer duties, I spent the weekend in the gym playing and in the library practising drawing. It's too cold for the park, furthermore I'm sick of drawing nature. I want to draw people, so I use the magazines in the library as references. On Monday morning I find a note slipped under our door from Grabiner for me, requesting to see me after classes. Must be about the first fundraiser.  
What was the occasion for the fundraiser again? I never paid it any attention. Well, I'll find out soon enough. As for class selection, I decided to focus on blue and green magic equally. I still have difficulties with teleportation, but I get better.  
After my last class on Monday, for which I choose blue magic by Grabiner, I stay to discuss with him the fundraiser. "Ah, Miss Ojousama. As treasurer you are responsible for managing the freshman class tribute." The first fundraiser was for a tribute? What kind of tribute? I don't remember… "A tribute, Sir?" "The payments American wizards make to the tribal councils for the use of their land." An "Oh" escapes my lips. Right, there was something about Columbus being a name better not mentioned in American magic society and stuff, right? I wonder, what exactly happened. It kind of feels as if it is something we should know about, the same way Germans are forced to learn about the holocaust. Grabiner chuckles. I don't think I have seen him chuckle before? He looks cuter, when he isn't grumpy.  
"Petunia in her wisdom does not consider it necessary for first-year-students to cover magical history." Given Grabiner's tastes, he definitely has a problem with that. Though I partly agree with him, it is an unfavourable situation to have to pay tributes without knowing 'why'. Being unaware of social conflicts or political tensions can be dangerous, after all. Well, given Potsdam's 'happy-go-lucky'-attitude, she probably doesn't care about such things at all.  
"Professor Potsdam really wants us to be carefree like her, huh. Even though that can be dangerous…", I mutter. "Indeed. You may find that much of what that woman does is an act designed for similar purposes." Given Grabiner's overprotective nature, Potsdam attitude must be driving him crazy. Though I can relate to the wish of wanting to keep us 'innocent' by leaving us unaware of the dangers and problems of magical society, but sixteen years should be old enough, to learn about such stuff. "Now, for the Thanksgiving tribute. The funds come through two sources: ticket sales from the fall play, and candle sales at the shopping centre, where the school rents a kiosk. The purpose is to attain money from the outsiders – the non-magical – given willingly." I nod, since I already know about the candles.  
"The candles are coloured and scented to provide 'festive cheer'. Each class produces their own design. Try not to embarrass yourself." He adds the last part with a smile, which shows me, that he expects me to fail. I already know some colour-scent-combinations, which would work well though…  
Should I choose pink peppermint candles to become cuter? How does choosing pink peppermint-scented candles affect my cuteness anyway? Because Angela thought of them as childish? Maybe I should do something apart from candles? But am I… smart enough? I don't anticipate doing a raffle though, and I shouldn't do something too risky, since I want to do a good job. I decide to go with red cinnamon-scented votive candles. I like cinnamon, so I may also buy one. Plus this combination is a sure win.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Dates and Duels

* * *

On Friday Damien approached me. He avoided me, since I told him to go figure out, whether he can deal with becoming friends, so I figured it must be about the  
'not-a-date'-date event. "Hello, Elise. Did you enjoy your dinner?" Gasp. Oh my god. I have eaten chili, like the player in the game. And it was way too bland.  
Oh no, my free will… Damn you, game manipulation. Ok, time to think 'outside of the box'. I'll simply change the topic, this way the conversation has to differ otherwise Damien would act really strange, right? "Oh, Damien, I haven't seen you for some time. Whatcha doing here?", I ask him.  
Damien chuckles at my poor attempt in changing the topic. "I thought so. There are many secrets here you probably haven't found yet - such as the best place to get a good meal. Would you like to come to dinner with me tomorrow, off campus?" I totally want to go. I can't wait to taste the food of the Glen.  
But I'm not supposed to know the destination, so I ask, "Where?" "Near the mall, but not quite part of it. It's called the Glen and it's magic-only. The professors go there, then they're too tired to travel, and visiting parents who want to take their student-children somewhere nice." "I see.", I answer, without commenting about the fact that magical parents are allowed to visit. Having a magical background surely is beneficial. "So- would you like to go?", Damien asks me eagerly. I hesitate.  
Maybe I should just stay away from him. He IS dangerous. "So… you can deal with being friends now?", I ask him dryly.  
"I… what do you want me to say?", he replies, sounding a bit perplexed. It's not really about what I want him to tell me though? Do I have to tell him what kind of lie  
I want to hear? This is so ridiculous. I know, that he won't mean it, whatever he will tell me now. If I would continue on his path until the bitter end, then he might actually develop honest feelings towards me, but even in that case I'm not entirely sure, that his 'love' was honest. Seemed more like a selfish obsession to me.  
Sure, he would 'build a kingdom' for the player, but that is something he wanted to do from the beginning, right? I wouldn't be surprised, if the continuation of that story would be the Player being partially forced into becoming his queen, unable to leave him, even if she would change her mind.  
But then again, I might be wrong about him. I don't know him very well after all, he is not someone, whose true feelings can be assessed.  
But given the pleasure he seems to take in making other people suffer… "It's not my task to tell you what to tell me, right? You have to decide, whether you want to get closer to me or not. If you can't open up a bit towards me, then we can't be called 'friends', so in the end the decision lies with you." I hope, I get him to understand, that not letting anyone close in order to strive for power is not worth it, since it will be lonely. But he probably won't understand, will he?  
I don't think anyone could 'save' him, but I'll go with the flow for now, instead of downright refusing him. "Right. I can do that. I think."  
It makes me feel really ignored, then they simply react like in the game. I wish, I wouldn't have played it so much, then I wouldn't notice how much my words don't matter. "So… you'll come right?" Well, at least the conversations change a bit according to my replies. Some parts are omitted, that's something…  
"Well, yeah, I couldn't say no to a magical dinner, could I?" "Great! I'll meet you tomorrow at the mall." Oh no, wait. I won't have time tomorrow, since I'll have to console Ellen. Or would I be able to do both? I don't remember… Argh, why is my memory so inconsistent? Oh well, better safe than sorry.  
"Wait, sorry, I can't this week." He looks a bit disappointed. "Oh. Well… how about next week then?" Next week should be alright. "Sure, I'd love to"… eat magical dishes without having to pay for them. Am I a bad person? Probably. But then again, he tries to get his hands on my soul, so it's ok to use him a bit. I guess, I don't really fit the heroine-cliché.

On Saturday morning I fulfil my treasurer duties and distribute the post. There is a letter for Ellen this time. I hand it to her, after arriving back to the dorm room and soon after Ellen lies depressed on her bed, as expected. "What is it?", Virginia inquires. "It-It's nothing. Just a change of plans. Apparently I'm not going home for Thanksgiving." I remain silent. "What?", Virginia asks further, after I didn't react. "Because… It's a long way for such a short break… so it's better for me to stay here…" "Is that what you want?" "That doesn't matter. Really, it doesn't. I – it's not my decision. I can't go home on my own. They don't want me there." Virginia reacts unnaturally sensitive: "Well, we want you here! Don't we, Elise?" I nod, trying to smile in a comforting way. I have delayed my date with magical food for this, after all. I'm not good at consoling, maybe Virginia is better than me at it, even though she sucks so much at reading the atmosphere.  
"Come on! We should all do something together today!", Virginia exclaims excitedly. "You don't have to do that. I'm fine, really.", Ellen tries to refuse half-heartedly. "You're fine with not going home? What, do you hate your parents or something?", Virginia probes. So much about her being sensitive.  
But then again, she doesn't know, that Ellen's parents don't see Ellen as their daughter. "I don't hate them. They just – don't want me. Mama's probably glad to be rid of me." Seeing Ellen so sad, really hurts my soul. She definitely deserves to be appreciated more. "What about your Dad?"  
"He's not around. I live – lived – with my Mama and Justin, my stepfather." "Your father doesn't want to see you?", I ask softly. The game only said, that he left due to her mother cheating on him after all. "That – not really, I think. Mama was… she left him, with us. Because… Jenny's my half-sister. Justin's her dad. My father… was angry? I don't remember a lot, what happened. Then we moved and he eventually stopped writing. Mama says I look like him." I stay silent, since I know, that her family situation won't improve. Telling her, that her family probably wants to see her and it would just be a misunderstanding, would be like adding salt to her wounds. "So, uhh… will you go home on Christmas?", Virginia asks Ellen to fill the silence, which I created, since I didn't want to act according to the game.  
"As far as I know." I still remain silent, since I'm at a loss as to what to say. Even without me intervening, Virginia invites Ellen to stay over the holydays.  
Makes me envious, I want to visit Virginia's home too. How does the house of a magical family look like? Are they like a 'normal' family? We decide to head outside, where we start to fool around and play tag. Since I had a lot of fun playing around with them, I decide to ask them to spend the next day together as well.  
This way I won't be bored.

On Monday Minnie approaches me. "There you are! I've been looking for you. Is everything on course for the fundraiser? You've got it set?" This is an event right? What kind of advice should I give her, regarding Kyo? "Yes, all set.", I answer her. "Great. Here's the papers on the booth location and schedules. Do you mind which time you work?" I want the last shift. I want to be treated to a magical chai by Professor Grabiner. "Uh, no, I don't care at all.", I answer her nonchalantly.  
"Only I'm supposed to be somewhere else after the last shift and I know it might run over, so… Yeah… Can I ask you something?" Minnie looks at me, fidgeting nervously. I look back at her with a poker-face. It doesn't matter anyways, what I say, right? "When two people are going out, is it normal for them to spend all their time together? Not with anyone else?" See? So she simply interpreted my silence as a yes. Well, I guess it could be interpreted as a yes in that situation… I sigh.  
"Well, there is this thing called 'first-love-phenomenon', where people will ignore their friends and in severe cases even loose them, after getting into a new relationship. This phenomenon usually occurs by inexperienced people, mainly with their first love, which is why I named it this way. That being said, it is advisable to pay attention to this phenomenon, in order to avoid being affected by it, unless you want to find new friends anyways. Also, it is not healthy for a relationship to only spend time with your partner. So to conclude my advice for people affected by this phenomenon: pay attention to your friends. Your world shouldn't revolve around a single person, otherwise you will regret."  
This is actually something which I often observed in my circle of friends, people would neglect their friends for the first few months of a new relationship, since they would be in 'lovey-dovey-land'. I also nearly lost some of my friends due to my first boyfriend, but we were able to mend our relationships, before they broke off.  
I lost one of my friends however, since he (yes, he, guys are not immune against this phenomenon) wouldn't spend time with us for MONTHS!  
It's a sad story, really, but usually it's not that severe. "Right. Well, thanks for your help. I'll talk to you later." And with that, she disappeared.  
Have I mentioned already, how much ignored I feel due to these events?  
I mean, it's like I have no real influence on the conversation at all! Apart from the game choices, of course.

On Thursday we freshmen assembled in the gym for our first duel practice, like in the game. I try to pair up with someone besides Donald, but Virginia and Ellen are immediately paired up. I look for Minnie, but she's already paired up with Kyo. "Hey Elise, let's pair up." I turn around to see a smiling Donald.  
No chance for escape, huh. Well, technically I could say no, but that would be way too awkward for me, besides, I don't have another option at the moment.  
"Sure.", I answer him with a weak smile. Donald lets me try first and I half-heartedly try to cast a weakness-spell. Before I can hit him, he freezes me, as expected. Next is his turn and I prepare an illusion of myself behind me. As he starts casting his spell, I take a step to the side, while changing my hair color to black. My method is a bit needlessly complex, since I have to uphold two illusions at the same time, but I practised this in advance.  
The illusions in itself turned out pretty lousy, I mean, it's 2D and badly drawn, but Donald didn't expect my move and didn't have enough time to notice the low quality. "What? What do you call that?", he asks me perplexed. "Thinking outside of the box?", I answer, feeling cheeky. We continue like that for a while, but inevitably Donald leans in to whisper to my about his 'great plan', for which I should lie down on the floor. As I already know, what his surprise is about, I simply sigh. "Do you really need to attend detention every weekend? Do you enjoy the company of Grabiner that much?" Donald looks at me surprised. "Well, whatever. I have plans for this weekend, so I can't join you in your date with Grabby, so you'll have to deal with Potsdam on your own." After that, I lie down, like a well-behaved girl and watch Donald casting his fire dragon. Considering, that he simply breaks a rule Potsdam had mentioned before, his way of attaining detention is really uncreative.  
I guess it's hard to think of new ways to get into detention every week. Being the bad kid seems to be a full-time-job for Donald, since he also has to find ways to help Potsdam in order to get merits and not be expelled. After Donald casted his spell, Potsdam immediately appears to give him detention and I remain quiet.  
Or at least I planned to do so. "Professor Potsdam, I'm sorry for interrupting, but… Donald didn't endanger me. He told me to duck, before he casted the fire-dragon. The mischief he causes, would never hurt someone." Ahh, goodbye funny jelly. You'll be missed. Potsdam proceeds to give me detention and I sigh. My heart is too soft sometimes. At least Donald thanks me or sticking up for him.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: For funny jelly and for revenge

* * *

After gym I look for Damien in the halls, to inform him about my detention. I won't do the same mistake as the player and inform Damien about the cancellation in the last minute! "Oh, hi Elise. Were you looking for me?", Damien greets me with a smile. "Yeah, about our date, I have detention on Saturday, so…"  
He looks at me in wonder. "So?" Isn't it obvious? "So I can't come unfortunately?" Damien chuckles. "Detention doesn't last for the whole day and I wanted to go with you in the afternoon anyways." I see. So this differs from the game, huh. "Oh. Awesome. Then, see you on Saturday." I head back to my dorm room in a good mood. Now I won't regret standing up for Donald.

The next day I witnessed Ellen refolding her clothes. I choose not to comment her actions; her tidiness-fetish isn't new to me after all.  
The following day is my long awaited date. I sorted the mail and allowances in an unusually good mood, while humming some kpop-songs. After I come back to the dorm room, I find a note for me from Damien, which says "Don't forget". As if I would forget such an important event. I head towards detention and count the marbles with Donald. I shouldn't have underestimated, how boring this is. The fact, that this task is so meaningless, makes it so much more frustrating!  
After I have finally finished counting the marbles, I head to the mall. I even still have time to take a small look around the magic shop. I consider buying a wand,  
but can't decide for one. Whatever, it's time for my magical dinner, I can still buy a wand another day.

"Hello, Elise. Are you ready?", Damien greets me at the appointed meeting place. "Yes. Where are we going?", I answer him, since I haven't found out, where the Glen is yet. I fail to hide the excitement in my voice and Damien smiles at my enthusiasm. "You'll see.", he answers while giving me a seductive smile.  
"It's not far, just across the parking lot." He proceeds to lead me across said parking lot and adds. "It's hidden, of course. The easiest way to find it is to go with someone, who's been before. Shall we?" He offers me his arm and I hesitatingly grab it. After reaching the restaurant, I can't help but stare at the interior.  
It looks disappointingly normal, but that was how it was described as in the game anyway. At least the atmosphere is nice and comforting.  
"Not quite that you were expecting?", Damien asks me teasingly. "Oh well, it looks a tad too normal.", I answer him honestly.  
At least the customers look strange, I can see Jacob with his two dads at one table and some strange birdlike creature at another. There is also a woman with a few blue scales bordering her face and lizard-like violet eyes. Her hair colour fits to the colour of her scales. She is really pretty in a weird way.  
"It is simpler to rely on standard suppliers and build something in keeping with the world. They save their energy for the food. In the Otherworld there are no limits. You can eat of flying platters in a crystal palace.", Damien comments my remark. "Can you tell me more about the Otherworld?", I ask him, since the game only gave bits of information about it. "No one has told you about that yet?", Damien asks me surprised. "Think of it like fairyland. It's another world next to this one, where magic runs more strongly. It is wonderful, but it has its dangers. That's where magical creatures come from. Elves, dragons- all the source of myths and legends."  
I should have known better, than to expect more information. This IS a game event after all. Damien hands me the scroll-like menu and I think about what to order. "Would you like me to order for you?", Damien asks me. How considerate of him, I think sarcastically. I want to taste the magical jelly, so I nod.  
Soon my magical jelly arrives, and I cautiously take a bite. Tastes like cake, yummy. I take another- sweet and sour sauce. Another bite - vinegar.  
Damien explains to me the rules for eating 'amiuzon' and I slowly keep eating, carefully not trying to giggle. Magic is so much fun! While we wait for the main course, Damien suddenly looks seriously at me. "So… I suppose it's time." Ugh, not more half-truths, please! I simply give him a questioning look.  
"To tell you about… where I come from. Please- promise me you won't repeat this story to anyone else." The 'you're-the-only-girl-I-trust'-scam, huh.  
I'm not really interested in your story, you know? Well, ok, that's a lie, but I'm aware of the fact, that you definitely won't tell me the true story.  
"I'm not a tattletale, but you really don't need to confide in me, if you don't want to, Damien.", I answer him calmly. "No… though it's not easy to talk about."  
Then DON'T! "As I said, you don't have to. I won't force you. No, honestly, I don't want to pry, so please don't force yourself to tell me. I really don't need to know.", I answer him honestly. "No, I know you. Being who you are, I don't believe you'll judge me the same way. You don't have the same expectations, because you weren't born magic. Neither was I.", Damien continues in 'pouring his heart out', despite my refusal for his offer. So you know me? Really? Since when?  
We only hung out for a few times. "You", I begin, wanting to ask him, whether he REALLY thinks he knows me. "Not human. But my parents are.", Damien interrupts me. I really can't win against the game, can I? So annoying. "I'm… a changeling.", Damien continues.  
"Your mother cheated on your father with a demon? And he didn't notice your blue skin colour?", I ask him. I refuse to surrender! "Swapped as a baby. As far as I know. I don't exactly remember." "And they didn't care about your blue skin colour? They though you just ate too many blueberries or something?"  
Even though Damien tries to seduce me, he wouldn't be able to bear with such rude remarks, right? But he just chuckles. "I didn't look like this until later. I grew up always believing there was something wrong with me, that the face I saw in the mirror wasn't right. But I didn't know why. Oh, I imagined all sorts of things. Perhaps my parents weren't my parents, perhaps I was a lost prince and someday my real family would come and take me away… And save me." Save you from what?  
"I think every unhappy child imagines that." He sighs and looks away. "Do you have any clues about your true parents?", I ask him.  
"No. I've never seen them." He pauses for a minute. "When I turned thirteen, I saw my true face for the first time. I was terrified. I had to learn how to hide it, and pretend to be normal even though I knew it was all a lie. It was quite a shock when I came to Iris and everyone was demanding to know my bloodline. I couldn't tell them and I didn't want to explain." Pretending to be normal can be pretty tiring, it must have been difficult. Even though he doesn't tell me the whole truth,  
it was mentioned in the game, that he hid his lies in truth, therefore I believe that a lot of the things he just told me were true, though the truth differs from his story greatly. "Having the whole school annoy you about your biological parents must have been tiring.", I comment dryly.  
He acted worse towards the student body, breaking hearts in the cruellest ways here and there. Suddenly Damien's expression changes back to his seductive grin. "You see. That's why I could tell you this. Because it doesn't matter to you. They want to know who I'm related to, so they know my status. There aren't many all-magical families, and they're very proud of who they are. And when I wouldn't answer their questions – because I couldn't- that made them think I had something to hide. Especially William." Damien leans back and the waiter arrives with the main dishes. Damien wishes me bon appetite and I reply appropriately, before we start eating. It's delicious. While I enjoy my food quietly, Damien looks up. "Did you know that William originally was a falcon?" I swallow my food without haste.  
"He was?", I ask absent-minded. Gotta concentrate on the food. "We were hall mates at first, freshmen year." "He didn't mention.", I reply dryly.  
Please let me eat in peace! "He probably didn't want to spoil his image by telling you what happened. Being kicked out of falcon hall for starting a fistfight doesn't sound very cool, does it?" Yeah, probably. Or maybe because he doesn't want everyone to know you broke his heart. Is every game character bisexual by the way? Not that I would mind that… "So what was your fight about?", I ask him with obvious disinterest.  
"He kept trying to break into my room. He followed me around- but I wouldn't tell him anything… No. Let's talk about something else."  
If you don't want to talk about it, why bring it up? We continue to chat for a bit while finishing the main course. Full of anticipation I wait for the dessert. I love sweets. I carefully place the 'strawberry' in my mouth and let the sugar melt and gently suck, until the liquid bursts in my mouth. Eating them is a bit… strange.  
The same kind of strange like eating a banana while looking into the eyes of another person, if you know, what I mean.  
Damien laughs over my conflicted expression, paired with a slight blush. "They're filled with strawberry juice. It's supposed to provide energy." After Damien paid the bill, we head back to the vans. The date was really nice, but I feel a bit bad for using Damien. Only a bit though, he is a total a**hole after all.

The Sunday I spent playing in the gym and practising drawing. It's still too cold for the park, since its November (the 17th), so I go to the library again.  
Being able to do art helps in creating illusions, since you have to imagine the image you want to create, so you could say that my drawing practices also count as studying. Apart from drawing also plan to train painting, but I need utensils for that. I wrote to my parents, hinting that I wish for painting utensils for Christmas.

On Monday Ellen asked me, whether I'd like to go watch Medea and I immediately agreed. Apart from the fact, that I'm still often bored here, I really like musicals and operas. My parents used to take me to a few plays when I was a child. My favourite was König der Löwen (The lion king), but I also liked Evita and Phantom der Oper. Classics, I know. Besides, I can really afford it. For classes I focus on black and blue magic this week.  
On Wednesday Donald approaches me with his friend Luke to ask me, whether I want to earn some merits making candles.  
I already have 15 merits, but I agree to help them anyways. Candle-making with magic sounds interesting, also I like collecting merits. I guess I'm quite the nerd.  
Well, due to my ambitious nature I like being an over-achiever. The boys lead me to a class room and we spend the rest of the afternoon melting wax and creating candles. It's fun, but tiring and I decide to spend the next day with gym and some light studying instead of classes. Even a nerd like me needs some rest sometimes. After our work is done, Potsdam rewards us each with ten merits. Now I have 25 merits. Nice.

After more or less relaxing on Thursday, I go to classes as usual on Friday and in the evening I go to the Medea-play with Ellen. I wonder, if the set decoration in the background, which displays an ancient Greek scene, was painted or created using blue magic. No matter how it was made, it definitely took a lot of artistic skill, since it is well-made. I enjoyed the play, even though I usually don't like tragedies. It was also surprisingly bloody with good special effects.  
I wonder, how scary a horror play would be, since their special effects are so well-made. After the play is finished, Ellen and I walk around for a while to talk about the play. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned…", Ellen remarks with a sad expression. Still thinking about William, Ellen? "That Shakespeare or something?"  
Though I did enjoy going to the theatre, I'm not really educated, then it comes to that stuff. "No, it was someone else. Cosgrove I think. From 'The Mourning Bride'."  
"Is it as bloody as Medea? I wonder how many litres of stage blood they used…It's a wonder no one fell victim to the slipping hazard created by the puddles. And the clothes! They probably need to use magic to clean them."  
"Sort of. It's complicated. Let me see, if I can remember… The rebel leader kidnaps the princess, but then they fall in love and get secretly married, but then there's a ship wreck and she's washed up alone and rescued by her father the king. So the king wants to marry her off to his ally and she doesn't dare tell him, she's already married to his enemy, and she thinks the rebel fellow is dead anyway. Only he's not, because he was washed up somewhere else and rescued by a queen, who falls in love with him, and the king falls in love with the queen, but they're enemies… So everyone loves someone, who loves someone else, and they all try to murder the people that they think have betrayed them, and then they feel guilty and try to change their minds… Only it's too late because the plots are already in motion, so they all end up killed by their own assassins. So the morale is, I guess, that revenge is dangerous.", Ellen summarizes.  
"Sounds like fun. Though I think that plays like Romeo & Julia, there everyone ends up dead, due to misunderstandings and stuff, leave you kind of frustrated.", I comment. "Even if a man treated me like Jason, I would never do what Medea did.", Ellen adds.  
"What, you wouldn't kill your own children, just to make your unfaithful husband sad?", I tease her. "But you're right, revenge is useless. It won't undo the things done, nor will it heal your wounds. In the end, one should simply focus on one's own wellbeing, instead of obsessing over the person, who harmed you. This way you will achieve happiness again, eventually." Ellen smiles weakly. "Eventually. Anyways, thanks for coming with me."  
That being said, we head back to the dorm.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Meeting the parents

* * *

On the next day Minnie visits me, while I'm sorting the allowances, to help me with that and take me to the mall, since we have to help set up the fundraiser.  
It's annoying, that we have to help with that, since I will do the last two shifts, meaning I will have to spend a lot of time at the mall somehow.  
After setting everything up, I do a bit of window shopping and play the dance game in the arcade. The other games don't interest me.  
Before my shift starts, I eat a small snack at the food court, I don't want to start my extra-long shift hungry after all. It's not easy being nice and polite, if you're hungry, so I have to avoid that. It's already dark, when it's my turn to sell candles at our booth. Behind the booth stands Grabiner, as expected.  
"Good evening, Sir.", I greet him politely. "Do not worry, Miss Ojousama. I'm only here to supervise. I am not a salesman."  
Well, duh, with all due respect, you would suck hard-core at selling stuff, Sir.  
"Take your place. I will be sitting over there, if you have need of me. And only if you have need, I do not appreciate being interrupted while I am reading."  
For what would I need you anyway? In case some customer tries to rob the booth? "Of course.", I answer him lightly. Before approaching potential customers,  
I check our current supplies. Our cinnamon candles have sold well, as expected, the same goes for the green pine-scented pillar candles and the orange pumpkin-scented votive candles. The white peppermint-scented and the orange tangerine-scented tea lights also sold well, but not the red cinnamon-scented pillar candles (huh, strange) and the white pine-scented taper candles. The pink pumpkin-scented votive candles also didn't sell, unsurprisingly.  
I begin devising a strategy to sell the nearly unsold candles. The white taper candles and red pillar candles I can sell as candles for advent wreaths, since they're perfect for that purpose. I'm not sure how common advent wreaths are in the US though, they were pretty common in Germany.  
As for the pink votive candles, I really have no clue. The target group for those would be girls, I guess. Furthermore, I will mention, that this is a fundraiser for our school (which it is, even though the money won't go to the school in the end). Apart from the candles, who sold badly, I will also try to completely sell our red cinnamon-scented votive candles. It's not a competition, but I think it would be awesome, if our candles sold best anyways.  
I already admitted to being ambitious, right? With the best smile I can muster, I begin approaching potential customers, mainly those, who fit the target groups of the candles I focus on selling the best. Though I said, that I would focus on selling certain types of candles, I don't try to persuade them to buy them, if they're not interested in them and only give honest advices. I'm not a scammer, besides, trying too much will have the opposite effect.  
For example, I don't approach shy customers, since I know as someone, who used to be shy, that they prefer to be left alone. So I only smile at them, if they look towards me and only talk to them, if they approach me first. With the more extroverted customers, I try to do a bit small talk on the other hand.  
Americans seem to enjoy small talk with strangers more than Germans do, which is a bit difficult to deal with, for an ex-shy ex-German.  
I don't know, whether my strategies are successful or not, but I manage to sell a lot of candles. I'm slowly starting to become tired, but there are still many people roaming the mall. I don't plan to overwork myself until I nearly collapse, like the player did, though. I'd like to try the chai, but I won't do something so foolish.

While I stretch myself, Angela approaches the booth. "Oh. The candles." Good job, Sherlock Holmes. "Wanna buy some?", I ask her, knowing that she doesn't.  
"Red and cinnamon? … how cliché." I give her a sweet smile. "One of our best sellers." "Some people have no sense of style.", Angela answers arrogantly.  
Yeah, sure, red peppermint candles are sooo stylish. "Could you please stop scaring away our customers, if you don't want to buy anything?", I ask of her politely. Well, my tone of voice was polite at least. Angela just rolls her eyes at me and leaves.  
I'm a bit surprised, that she simply takes my insult, but maybe it's due to the game-fate-thingy. She isn't supposed to make a big scene after all.  
More time passes and I continue selling many candles, however I don't feel fatigued at all. Sure, I'm a bit tired, but apart from that…  
How long did the player sell candles, until she nearly collapsed? Suddenly I notice the first shops closing. Guess, I should stop selling candles.  
There are only six red cinnamon-scented votive candles left and the other stocks decreased a lot as well. I decide to buy four, to use them as an advent wreath surrogate. While I start to pack the candles, Grabiner looks up from his book. He seems confused. I bet he wonders about how much time has passed.  
Must have been a good book, I envy him. "Miss Ojousama? What time is it?", he asks me perplexed. "Uh, well that is good question. I have no idea.", I answer him and shift my look back to the box I was filling with left-over candles, while massaging my head with one hand.  
Since I saw the other shops closing down, I got a small I feel the fatigue of working for hours, like a dam breaking down.  
I start to wobble and nearly faint, but Grabiner catches me, before I fall head first on the table with the unpacked candles. As expected.  
But why the hell didn't I feel tired before? Is it due to the game-fate-thingy manipulating me?! "Idiot girl! Have you not sat down for all this time?"  
Well, I was occupied with selling candles. I guess I let myself get carried away with my goal of selling the most candles. "I was occupied…", I try to defend myself weakly. Grabiner sighs. "Well, I can't take you back like this. Someone would assume I'd worked you to the bone on purpose. Come along then."  
I don't think Grabiner would mind people assuming that though? He seems to rather enjoy his reputation of being scary, even though he falls victim to stupid pranks due to this. Nevermind, we packed the remaining candles away and store everything in the van, before he leads me towards the Glen.

We sit down on a small table at the corner of the restaurant and I wait full of anticipation for my Chai. "Have you been here before?", Grabiner asks me.  
"Only once, unfortunately", I answer him truthfully. It's not like him to ask questions like these though? "Sit. Say nothing. I will order."  
Right, he probably asked, because he wanted to know whether I'd be able to order for myself. But then again, he's treating me, so he would be the one to order anyway, wouldn't he? A few minutes later, our Chai teas arrive. I carefully take a sip, afraid of burning my tongue. "Mhhmm, delicious.", I comment with a smile.  
"It's Chai.", Grabiner answers. …I know. "Thank you very much for treating me, Sir.", I thank him politely.  
"It shouldn't have been necessary, if you had any sense.", Grabby retorts grumpy as usual. Geez, why can't you simply accept my thanks? It's not even my fault that I nearly fainted! It's the game's fault! "I suppose, I should be thankful you didn't simply lock your knees and faint.", he adds in a slightly less grumpy tone of voice.  
He's a bit tsundere sometimes, isn't he? I sigh. A part of me would like to try and make small talk with him, but I know he won't respond much.  
I stay silent and sip my drink, while I watch him drinking his. The silence doesn't feel uncomfortable and I use the opportunity to get a closer look at him.  
He seems unusually relaxed, probably due to the comforting atmosphere of the Glen, in addition to the soothing effect of the Chai. He looks better, when he isn't frowning. Now that his usual grumpy expression isn't shown, he suddenly looks rather tired. That reassures me in my decision to cease talking, as it probably would disturb his relaxation. Suddenly he looks up from his cup and his gaze meets mine. I casually shift my look beside him, as if I would've just looked around a bit.  
I can't hold back my curiosity and glance at him again. He still looks at me, with an expression I can't read. That's a bit unusual.  
I stare in my cup in order to keep me from staring at him. When I take another glance, he has shifted his attention back to his cup again. We finish with our Chai teas soon enough and a waiter arrives with our dessert. I think it's strange to receive a complementary dessert, even though we only ordered some Chai, but I wouldn't complain about that, of course. Like with Damien, eating the sugar-strawberry in front of someone else feels lewd. I take another glance at Grabiner.  
Rather than lewd, his way of eating the candy looks elegant. He appears so graceful, when he isn't vexed over the stupidity of students.  
"We should go." I nod. "Yes, sir. Thanks again for the treat." Grabiner pays the bill, and we head over to the van to drive back to the academy.  
On the way back I sit in front, next to Grabiner. Although tired, I'm in a good mood and I quietly hum 'Bolero' from Maurice Ravel. I guess, I'm in a 'sophisticated' mood. Grabiner seems to completely ignore my existence, while he drives the van. Back at the academy I ready myself for bed and immediately fall asleep. It was a long day.

On Sunday I stay unusually long on bed, being still tired from the day before. The rest of the day I spent in gym with Virginia and in the library to continue my drawing practice. There isn't much else, I could do here, after all. My drawing skill has already significantly increased. I meet Ellen in the library and she agrees to let me try drawing her, while she revises her studies. Though I got better at drawing, I decide not to show Ellen her 'portrait' and destroy my drawing, before she gets to see it. I still have a long way to go…  
On Monday morning we freshmen assemble in the gym again. Isn't there a better way to inform the student body, apart from letting them assemble every second week or so? "Good morning, buttercups!", Potsdam greets us with her familiar chirpy voice. She then proceeds to remind us about the Thanksgiving-vacation following Tuesday and how we're not allowed to speak about magic to non-magical people, unless we want to give up on our magic. As I try to head back to the dorm, Minnie catches my arm, to tell me about Grabiner complimenting my work, while also thanking me for covering for her. As expected, but it makes me happy nonetheless.  
Hard work being appreciated sure feels nice. The last two days before vacation I concentrated on blue magic. On Tuesday we assembled AGAIN, and Potsdam holds her small speech about Thanksgiving, while we hold hands, with our eyes closed.

On Wednesday morning my mother came to get me. My mother works as a lawyer and my father teaches history at the University of New Hampshire. I don't have any siblings and my parents are rather well-heeled, so they spoiled me a bit. Or at least that's what the memories I received upon entering Iris Academy tell me.  
My mother has the same hair colour as I, it seems to be natural hair colour. I never saw someone with natural red hair THAT dark in my 'old world' though…  
Apart from that her eyes are more grey than blue, so I got my eyes from my father, I guess. My father has normal brown hair.  
On my ride home Mom and I chatted a bit about how things have been at home without me. Both my parents work quite a lot, so they probably didn't miss me too much. After arriving home, I brought the few things I took with me to my room. I sigh, while looking around this room, I've never been to before and yet know so very well. Being here feels so weird. I lie down on my bed and stare at the blank ceiling. In the academy I usually have illusions drawn onto the ceiling.  
They don't last for long, but since I'm still often bored, I redraw them nearly every evening. Making them longer-lasting, makes the spell more complex, but I'm satisfied with making the illusions in itself more complicated and detailed instead. Absent-mindedly I raise my hand, in order to cast an illusion on my ceiling, but stop myself, before I even started to cast. I sigh and sit up on the bed. There is a book shelf filled with fantasy fiction and a desk with a computer. Apart I have a big wardrobe, which reaches up to the ceiling. In a corner is a music stand with my clarinet-case beside it. Apart from my desk chair, there is also an exercise ball.  
The furniture looks modern and is not childish thankfully. Embarrassing boyband posters are also missing. The interior of my room is held in white, light blue and sunny yellow. I like it, to be honest. I really want to draw an illusion of dunes and the sea on my walls, though.  
I lived in Kiel in Germany and sometimes miss being close to the sea.  
I wonder, when I'll be able to make moving illusions. They're far more complex than just creating pictures, and right now I'm still unable to do 3D-illusions.  
The darkness-spell could be considered as a 3D-illusion, but since you don't have to alter the light, but simply make it disappear, it's easier.  
Creating a simple source of light is relatively easy due to similar reasons. As soon as I'm able to do moving 2D-illusions, I will turn my dorm room wall into an aquarium. I stand up and go down. In the living room I see my mother sitting at the dining table and working on her laptop. She looks up from her laptop, as I slump down on the couch. "Sweetie, we wanted to celebrate you visiting us, after such a long time, so we will go out to eat dinner, as soon as your father comes from work.  
Is there something special you want to eat?" I think for a while. "Can we go eat sushi?" There are some German dishes I miss, but I doubt I'll find them here.  
Apart from that, I really like sushi, so sushi will be good. "Ok, Honey" Mother answers me and turns back to her work. While I enjoy eating sushi, the atmosphere at dinner is… weird. I don't know, how to talk to these people, I've just met, and who raised me for sixteen years. I decide to talk about school. I might not be able to talk about magic, but that doesn't mean, I can't talk about my teachers or my class mates. "Have you joined any clubs?", my mother asks me. "Yes, a sport club, where we play diverse ball games. Virginia was actually the one, who founded the club. The school doesn't have a running club, otherwise I would have joined that as well."  
"Do you study enough? Are your grades alright? Your school is quite a prestigious one, after all.", dad asks me with a stern look.  
"Don't worry, Dad. I'm doing well. My exams went really well, so far I had no problems with keeping up. Though the niveau is quite high,"  
\- learning magic is surprisingly difficult, and takes a lot of hard work - "but I can handle it." I give him a reassuring smile. Upon hearing this, my father is obviously appeased. Seems like he worried, that I wouldn't be able to keep up with my new super-prestigious school. We continued chatting throughout dinner, and the awkwardness subsided a bit.  
The next day my parents were busy in preparing the Thanksgiving Dinner, so there was no time for awkward situations. The rest of my vacation I avoided my parents a bit and stayed mostly in my room, listening to music on youtube. I have some problems in keeping the memories of my last life with the ones from my new life apart regarding certain details, for example my music taste, unless it's about a German band. I like to listen to various types of music, but that seems to be the case for both 'lifes' of mine, so I'm often not sure, whether I found the song in this body or before my reincarnation incident. I can't say, whether the pop music here coincides with the pop music of my last life or not. It's really confusing and I don't like this feeling that my memories are beginning to melt together. Apart from relaxing, I also revised my studies a bit, since I don't want to fall behind.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Friday the 13th (and another exam)

* * *

It's finally Sunday and mother drives me back to the academy. When I arrive at my dorm room, Virginia and Ellen are already waiting for me.  
"Hey, Elise, you're back! How was your holyday?" I smile wryly. "Weird to be honest. My parents feel like strangers to me." Which is the truth, though my reasons for feeling this way differ from the reasons as to why the player felt this way. "It might be side-effects of the memory spell, affecting their memories towards your magic, which makes things so weird between you.", Virginia comments. "What?", Ellen asks. "Well, it's all part of the same thing you know? Outsiders aren't allowed to know about magic. What if your parents went around telling everyone that their daughter was a witch?"I stay silent and continue to observe, how the game reacts to my refusal to say the lines I'm supposed to say. "But haven't they seen us in our robes and stuff?", Ellen asks Virginia confused.  
"I don't know how it works. I just know that wild seed parents are kind of encouraged to forget about it, after school starts." "Is… is that why my parents didn't come for me? They forgot me?" Virginia looks at Ellen with a hint of pity. "It's not supposed to make them forget about you. Just to forget, that you're a witch. It's easier this way, isn't it? To keep it a secret? If they knew, they'd ask…" "Well, I still have to answer their questions about school without talking about magic though.", I argue. "Yeah, some people can't handle that. That's why some wild seeds stop going home. And… some of them go home and never come back. But you came back! And we're glad to see you, right?" Ellen agrees. Well, it's not like my parents feel completely like my parents for me, in addition I'm a grown woman at heart, I had already left my nest in my past life.

On Monday morning we get our exam schedules. Since I'm not aware of the dates of the events, as I'm bad with memories such stuff, this exam comes a bit suddenly for me. I decide to attend blue and black magic classes for the day, since they are the most useful in my opinion. After classes I arrive at the door, which will teleport me into the dungeon.  
This dungeon is properly lighted, in opposition to the last, so I don't need to cast a light-spell. I cast Awareness, to get an idea about the size of the dungeon. I'm not good at white magic, so the impression I get about the dungeon isn't great, but it's enough to make me understand that this dungeon is a huge labyrinth. The exit is probably hidden behind an illusion. I think in the game you could find it using Track-Scent or simply try out Truesight on various deadlocks.  
I feel like cheating for knowing these solutions, even though the real dungeon differs a lot from the game. Simply enhancing my scenting ability with green magic won't be enough, though. I also have to muffle my other senses, otherwise I won't be able to sniff Grabby out. I cast Darkness, so that I won't be distracted by what I see, and cast Truesight in order to detect any traps, which might be hidden nearby. Then I enhance my scenting ability and begin to search for a scent, which differs from the musty smell of the dungeon. Soon I can smell a scent mixed out of… books… and black tea… Earl Grey? …wafting out of a certain direction.  
I move towards the direction while raising my hands in front of me, to avoid colliding with walls. Every few meters I recast Truesight for a moment, to avoid stepping into traps. I actually encounter two traps, which I'm able to avoid due to my Truesight, before the scent trace of Grabiner ends on a wall. This wall must be an illusion. An illusion, which also simulates a sense of touch. I'm not on a level, where I could make such an illusion yet. There is still so much to learn, I think with a smile.  
I want to keep studying here. Even after the May dance… I wonder, what will happen after that? The game ends with the May Dance after all.  
Will I return to my world? Or will I begin the game again? Or will my life here simply continue?  
These thoughts occupy me, while I cast a simple Truesight-spell, in order to dissolve the illusion. But against my expectation, the illusion doesn't dissolve. I frown. Maybe the illusion is too well made? I try again, but reinforce my Truesight-spell, by double-casting it. This time the illusion indeed dissolves and I happily go upstairs, to receive my five merits. Makes 30 merits already.

Happily humming a rock-song I head back to my dorm room, where I find Ellen muttering to herself depressed. Right, she should've failed, for not using magic,  
but given the width of the dungeon, I'd be surprised, if she didn't use any magic at all. "You alright, Ellen?", I ask her cautiously. "Didn't" "What?"  
"I didn't pass. That's what he said." "So why did Grabby not let you pass?", I ask curiously, wanting to know, whether she actually managed to solve the dungeon without using any magic at all. She probably only failed at dissolving the illusion though. "I was in the dungeon. I found a way out. I just didn't use magic to exit."  
I stay silent and wait for her to continue. "After finding the fake deadlock by using a breeze-spell, I analysed the layout to decide which wall was most likely, structurally to be false, and checked them for inconsistencies, until I found two walls, that were identical. I was sure one was an illusion, but they still felt solid, so I decided my mind was being fooled into stopping my hand and making me think I felt something. So I jumped at the wall so I would hit it in mid-air and my mind wouldn't be able to pull me back. And it worked." But, uh, couldn't you have chosen the wrong wall to jump against? Since there were two, who looked similar?  
In that case you probably would have a concussion!  
"But I didn't dissolve the illusion with magic, so he said it didn't count and he wouldn't give me any merits for it.", Ellen finishes sulky.  
So your only problem is, that you didn't get the merits? At least he didn't give you demerits for risking getting a concussion! Given Grabiner's over-protectiveness, that is already 'going easy on you' for him, you know? I decide to change the topic. I actually never chose this option, even though I played this game several times.  
I ask Ellen about her holydays, and she tells me about how Pastel also stayed at Virginia's house and got declined by her parents even later.  
Sounds horrible, I wonder why. It was refreshing, that this event differed a bit from what I know about the game.

The rest of the week I attend classes without focussing on any subjects, because I need to be able to do the basics in all magical colours. Maybe I should focus on red and white magic next week, since I'm the weakest at them.  
On Saturday I fulfil my treasurer duties and revise my spells after that. I concentrate on red and white magic while studying, since I feel quite secure with the other colours. Apart from that I practice making illusions on our dorm room ceiling. I go for an underwater scene, with lots of exotic fishes. Imitating the water proves to be the most difficult and as for the fishes… they don't vary as much as I wanted, so I go to the library to look up references. I'm surprised that the library actually has a suitable book on various kinds of non-magical sea creatures. When it comes to non-fictional books about diverse, non-magical topics (except for normal textbooks, which are a rarity), the library is actually well-assembled, but I usually wouldn't read such books in my spare time, apart from a few exceptions. There are also a lot of books with pictures, which can be used as references for creating illusions. Maybe my first assessment of the library was wrong.

The following day is a sports club meeting, but before I can go, Damien knocks on the door. "Hello.", he greets me with a flirting smile.  
Always playing the Casanova, huh. "Good morning Damien.", I greet him back politely. "My roommate just got a new set of flowerstones, so he gave me his old ones.  
I thought, I might teach you to play, if you're interested." "Not really. And I don't have time anyways. We have a sports club meeting today.", I answer him.  
If I ditch the meeting, Virginia would kill me. Damien looks perplexed. Maybe because in the game I could only choose between now and later?  
"Oh, ok.", he finally answers. "Well, I have to go. Have a nice day" Full of proud over my victory against the game-fate-thingy, I head towards the gym. I still can't believe, that I managed to finally do something outside of the box. Why did it take me so long? It seems so easy now.  
After the meeting, I spent the rest of the weekend practicing drawing and playing in the gym with Virginia.

On Wednesday we assemble in the gym again, and Potsdam let us draw a name for the Secret Santa. I draw 'Virginia Danson' as a name. I guess, that means I get better along with Ellen? Well, I get along quite well with both, so I don't really care.  
On Friday I wake up early. Right, todays Friday the 13th, a lucky day. I don't feel particularly tired, so I head to the dorm bath rooms. After that I go to the school canteen. Since it's still early (6 am), the canteen is nearly empty. I choose a seat near to a window. As I sit down, I notice Grabiner sitting across to me, on the table next to mine. He has a plate with omelette, but doesn't bother eating it, being engrossed in his book. I chuckle. The scene fits him so perfectly.  
He suddenly looks up. Oh, sh*t, I forgot he has such good ears. I immediately turn my head towards the window and play with my hair, acting, as if I wouldn't have noticed him. "You seem to be in an extremely good mood this morning, Miss Ojousama.", he remarks dryly. I turn to him with a light smile.  
"Today is Friday the 13th, Sir. It's a lucky day." He raises an eyebrow. "You believe in such things?" I tilt my head, perplexed. "It's just superstition?" He snorts.  
"Of course it is, how could all magical beings be lucky at the same time?" "My last Friday the 13th was a lucky day though? You apologized to me and even gave me merits. That's why I thought, it might be more than superstition. It's hard to tell for a wild seed…", I explain to him. "I see.", he answers, before he returns to reading his book, still ignoring his breakfast. Wait… did I just have a normal conversation with Grabiner?! What the hell is going on! I shake my head lightly.  
Weird.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Christmas presents

* * *

The next day is Saturday, so I wake up extra early and head towards the conference room, aka post office. I'm in a good mood, so I hum a folk metal song.  
My taste in music has a wide range… I start sorting the mail, there is more than usual, probably since Christmas is approaching. I change to humming a song from Adele, as I start preparing the allowances as well. "Ah, Miss Ojousama." I freeze and turn to the door. There stands Professor Grabiner.  
Oh right, the snow storm. "Good morning, Sir.", I greet him, before returning to my duties. This time without humming.  
"I need to add a notice to all students that outings to the mall are cancelled.", he explains his actions to me. "Due to the snow storm, I assume. We won't be able to buy our Secret Santa presents…", I answer him, while continuing with the allowances. "That is not my concern. Good day." And with that he's gone.  
I sigh and finish preparing the allowances, before I add the notice to the delivery.

As I return to the dorm room, Ellen is already up, while Virginia is waking up. "Mall trips are cancelled today, due to the snow storm", I inform them, while handing their mail and allowances to them personally. "But we haven't bought our presents to give!", Ellen exclaims. "Potsdam will think of an alternative.", I calm her down.  
After that I spent the rest of the day drawing in the library and decorating the ceiling of our dorm room with a new illusion. Guess that counts as studying, since I didn't run into Big Steve. In the evening I run into Donald. "Hey, Elise. Wanna go out?" He wants to invite me to building a snowman with him? "Oh?" "Luke and I were gonna build a snowman, but he didn't want to get his fingers dirty." So I'm the surrogate for your friend? "So he's above playing with snow? I didn't know, it was such a dirty task.", I sarcastically remark. "Oh well, I enjoy playing with snow. Of course I'll come with you." "Great!" Donald seems to be honestly happy about that.  
"Come on, over here. I don't want to pull up a patch too close by or it'll spoil the view." We start building the snowman and Donald takes out the vegetables he got from the cafeteria, which we use for the face of the snowman.  
"So did you get to enjoy your Thanksgiving vacation in the snow as well?", I casually ask him. "Well, no. My family was there then." I just give him a questioning look. He will tell me about his strained relationship with his sister, right? "If I made a snowman, Urchin would probably knock it down." I tilt my head.  
It does sound like her to immediately suspect it being booby-trapped – she has enough reason to!  
"She'd assume it was booby-trapped. She'd get someone else to knock it down for her." I smile teasingly at Donald. "You'd make a damn good booby-trap, I'm sure of it.", I compliment him. Dedicated artists like him should get appropriately acknowledged.  
"Maybe." He looks down, despite my compliment. He's tired of his own rebellion, isn't he? In the end, all what he wants is acknowledgement from his family,  
but he thinks he wouldn't be able to get any, so he works hard to cause mischief, in order to be noticed. So to conclude, he suffers from an attention-deficit and reacts to it like most children do: cause trouble. "Aren't you tired of pranking her?", I ask out of honest concern for him. I don't look at him, while asking this question, since I'm sure, he doesn't want me to see his true emotions right now, even though he is opening up to me. "But if I didn't, my family would forget I exist."  
I doubt that, but stay silent. It is not my place to tell him, what his family really thinks about him, since I'm an outsider, it would be too arrogant of me to do so.  
"All my life I've been pushed out of the way. William's Mister Cool, even when he screws up. He's done much worse than I have and it doesn't bother anyone. Everyone's proud of him.", Donald continues complaining. Well, he seems like a great guy, apart from the fact that he dated Angela and Damien. Starting a fist-fight with Damien after being betrayed by him, is justifiable. So he has bad taste? That is one flaw, but everyone has flaws…  
"And Virginia? My very first memories are of my mother giving her presents and telling me not to touch them. Or her." It's not unusual, that siblings think, that the other would get better treatment and grow jealous. But Donald's case is a severe one, since Virginia's parents fussed over her a lot due to her disease.  
Donald's parents were careless in not telling Donald about Virginia's disease and not noticing his feelings of lacking appreciation. They should have paid him more attention. But I guess I'm not one to judge, as I haven't been a mother and noticing such things while being occupied with taking care of three children  
(and work, whatever it might be they do for a living) might be perfectly excusable.  
"Any time she even bumped her knee, Mom and Dad dropped everything and come running. Half the time I got blamed, even if I wasn't anywhere near her. Nothing was ever her fault, and once she figured that out, she could do whatever she wanted and leave me to get the scolding. She's lazy, she's spoiled, she's not smart and she was never going to get anything near the Olympics. She wasn't even state-ranked. There's nothing special about her.", Donald rambles on.  
Ok, the parents are a bit incapable. Though Donald's view is probably tainted a lot due to his own feelings of under-appreciation and jealousy.  
"Well, she is a bit spoiled, that much is definitely true…", I agree. "The only reason she didn't cause more trouble than she did, was that our parents practically followed her around, waiting on her. But when I ran away from home, they didn't even notice." "Is that true?", I ask him softly.  
"Well, not for a few hours, anyway. Anyway, William is the successful eldest son. Urchin's the baby. I'm the trouble-maker. It's better than being nothing. Besides, it's fun to see how much trouble I can get myself into and still get myself out of it. It gives me a challenge." And with that Donald turns to the snowman to notice the 'blood effects' created by the beet-eyes. I decide not to press him further on the topic. The continue playing around for a bit, before we return inside.

The Sunday I spent like the last. On Monday we assemble in the gym. Seriously, we do that way too often! It's always so uncomfortable here, since it's crowded.  
Can't they simply contact us in a different way? But then again, Potsdam enjoys talking to us personally, I think. She is a strange woman, which shouldn't be underestimated, but she cares about us students. There is definitely more about her, behind her Hippie-façade though.  
Potsdam informs us about our alternative secret Santa, where we will handicraft some cards. We start making our cards. Since I have to make one for Virginia,  
I choose white paper, which I decorate with Christmas sweets and cakes. I deliberate about trying to enchant the card, so that an illusion will pop out, when Virginia opens it, but I can't think of a good illusion to create. To combine the illusion spell with a trigger is a difficult task, though I'm able to do it, since I'm good at black magic as well, but the illusion in itself wouldn't have a good quality, besides, I'm still only able to do unmoving, 2D-illusions. 3D-illusions and moving illusions is something to learn in the sophomore year and illusions of touch and other senses are learned in the junior year. The seniors only learn how to combine the different properties into one illusion. In the afternoon, we exchange our Christmas cards and Virginia is satisfied with mine, as expected.

Thursday is the chorale concert and I attend, to support Ellen and Donald. Since the Christmas vacation is coming up, I deliver the mail on Friday morning.  
At the conference room I meet Professor Grabiner, as he rummages through the mail. "Good morning, Professor.", I greet him, but he only replies with a grunt. Charming as ever, Grabby. He finally finds his package and leaves without saying anything else. "Notice me, senpai!", I jokingly cry out, before I start with my duties.  
I wonder, if the Manus was in the package? I have to be careful, the next time I step into the post office. Though it should be enough, not to think about him at Potsdam Christmas speech. Should be easy enough. I attend one red magic class and one green magic class after finishing with my treasurer duties.

In the evening we assemble in the gym again, to receive our final blessing from Potsdam, before we go back to our parents for the holydays.  
"Hello, my young students.", Potsdam greets us. No strange nickname for us? "The tradition of Christmas is one of giving and sharing. Most of you, who are returning to your homes will be exchanging gifts and spending time with friends and family. But while you're gone do not forget who you are. Do not forget all that you share with your brothers and sisters in magic. I have a special gift for you.", she finishes with a smile.  
Ok, here it comes, do NOT think about Grabiner. Not his curly black hair and his brown eyes with a tinge of red. Not his dark but lovely voice, his British accent. …...Dammit. Should have taken the reverse psychology into account.  
"Think of those that you care about. Think of a person that matters to you. If the person you choose is thinking of you as well, you will feel that connection, your affection being shared. I'll leave you to your thoughts." I sigh while I slightly feel his acknowledgement, before he cuts of the connection. I feel really stupid right now… Before I can think about anyone else, Potsdam climbs back on the stage and the spell fades.  
"Have a happy Christmas everyone! We'll see you in two weeks!"

It's weird, but I anticipate seeing my parents again a bit. Even though the Thanksgiving vacation was so awkward, and I still feel distant to them.  
It really doesn't make any sense. I give my mom a short hug, as she comes to fetch me on Saturday morning and we chat a bit on our way home.  
In the afternoon I buy two coffee mugs from a local shop as Christmas present for my parents. I choose some with plain, white design, so that I could the inscription-spell to personalize them. I erase the old design, turning them completely white and wrote on the mug for mom 'guilty of being the world's best mom' in dark violet (her favourite colour) and on the one for dad 'best dad in the history' in dark green (his favourite colour).  
I know, they're corny, but I want something, which reminds them of my existence.  
I spent most of my Sunday with preparing the presents. After I finished with my magic, I controll that they look natural, as in 'produced without magic' and wrap them in festive wrapping paper. After opening my presents on Wednesday morning and thanking them, I give them theirs and they seem to like them. I'm relieved.  
I got the painting utensils and music notes. I had mentioned missing music in my last vacation and how I'd like to play certain music.  
For them to remember this… I'm touched.  
I guess they also want me to continue playing clarinet. I spent the rest of my vacation mostly with practice: practicing the clarinet, practicing drawing, practicing painting and practicing green magic. Since the effects of the green magic are not visible, it is relatively safe for me to practice it. I use green magic on my own body, mostly for enhancing my lungs for playing the clarinet. But I also exercise enhancing my senses. Apart from practicing, I use the opportunity to listen to music on youtube, print some additional music notes from the internet and even spend some time with my parents. All in all, my vacation went surprisingly good, but I still don't feel very close to my parents.  
Given their presents, I feel like a spoiled brat for feeling so distant to them.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: How to drive off devils

* * *

On Sunday, January the 5th, I arrive back at school at lunch time. It feels good to be back at school again.I brought my clarinet, music notes and painting utensils with me. I won't be able to practice clarinet in front of anyone, but fortunately I have a room, for me alone – apart from Grabiner, but he doesn't visit the mail room aka post office aka conference room very often. It would be nice, if I could cast Silence around the room, in order to muffle the sound, but I would end up silencing myself as well, since I don't know yet how to spread the spell into a hollow circle. Well, the post office is located quite secluded at the end of a hall, so it should be okay.

My roommates are already waiting in our dorm room for me. "Hey, Elise!" "Welcome back", they greet me. "Oh hey, what's up? Did you enjoy your vacation?"  
"It was fine.", answers Ellen. "It was great!", answers Virginia. "Look I brought back tons of stuff." I look towards Virginia's bed, which is buried under stacks of sweets. 'Diabetes!' is the first word I think of. "That should last me at least a week, right?" A week? More like a month! Isn't she afraid of getting fat or something?  
I mean, maybe I'm not one to talk, since I love sweets as well and nibble too much candy as well, but still… Ellen sighs. Must have been difficult for her, to bear Virginia engulfing herself in cakes and cookies and so on during the holydays, since she is dissatisfied with her weight. "What?", Virginia asks, not understanding Ellen's dissatisfaction. "Nothing.", Ellen answers flustered. "Come on, what?", Virginia presses on. Just let her be!  
How insensitive can you be, to not see Ellen's inner conflict?! "It's not fair." Yeah, I feel you Ellen. Though I don't have any problems with my weight. Virginia just looks at her uncomprehending. "You eat nothing but bags of junk and sugar and you're as skinny as a twig. I eat healthy food and look like… me. Why?", Ellen complains. "The same reason my hair is red and yours that yellow colour. I'm just born that way." Ellen blows a strand of her yellow hair out of her face. "I could dye it."  
What kind of argument is that? "It would grow back again. There is nothing wrong with you. You don't have to eat salad all the time."  
"But I like salad." Ellen doesn't make much sense today. If she likes to eat salad, when there is the problem? "Then don't worry about it!"  
We continue to catch up a bit, while I pack my new stuff away. Ellen reminds us, that there will be a test at the end of the week, and I revise my spells a bit. For classes, I decide to focus on black magic.

On Monday I encounter Damien after my last class. He greets me. Ugh, no way to avoid him, unless I act unreasonably impolitely. "Hi, Damien."  
"It's good to see you. I'm glad you came back." "Of course I came back." I mean, I can learn magic here, duh. "Not everyone does." Ok, that's true. It seems like 3 wild seeds have dropped out, 1 after the Thanksgiving holydays and 2 after the Christmas holydays. There are some rumours going around regarding the reasons,  
but they're extremely exaggerated. One is about one of them trying to spy for the FBI. Like, what the heck? How and why would he contact the FBI?  
They wouldn't believe him anyways! I wasn't close to those wild seeds, so I'm not that much affected by the news.  
"Did you have a nice holyday?", Damien asks me. "Yup.", I answer. "Mine was pretty quiet with almost everyone gone." I didn't ask you about your holydays?  
Just leave me alone, dangerous meanie! "Oh?", I ask with disinterest. "No it's alright. Christmas doesn't mean the same thing to me as it does to you. It's your holyday, your time with your family. You should enjoy it." Look, I don't know how I could act any colder towards you, without being impolite! I reached my limit!  
I didn't even ask you about your holydays. Besides, are you trying to make me feel bad for enjoying the time with my family? I'm sorry for not being as unlucky as you! I just continue to stare at him quietly. With eyes that clearly say: what the f**** do you want from me?  
"Ah family. I'd rather not talk about it." Then DON'T! "Oh, I have something to show you. I made you a present. It's nothing much, but I wanted to give you something you could keep. Hold out your hands." Ugh, I don't want it. "Ah, I have nothing for you…", I try to object timidly. "Hold out your hands.", Damien repeats, still smiling, but in a scary way. Argh, somehow I can't say no. I hesitatingly hold out my hands and he places his stone rose in them. I'm not a big fan of roses…  
"Ugh, thanks… It's pretty." That much is true, it's really well made. "Advanced black magic. By the time you're a senior you'll be able to sculpt details even smaller."  
He keeps looking at me, smiling. I start to fidget a bit. Does he want anything more? I already told him, I don't have anything for him, right?  
"Uh, as I said, I have nothing to give to you. …sorry." Somehow, I feel really intimidated by him. "You already did. You're here.", he answers with a seductive smile.  
A shiver runs down my spine. "Anyway, I should go. I'll see you later." Please don't! Scary! You're too scary!

On Wednesday Donald knocks on our door to invite us to bingo. I don't like games of chance, especially since I have usually bad luck with them, so I decline politely. The rest of the week proceeds without any problems and I manage to avoid Damien. Good thing, that he's a senior…  
On Friday is the next exam. I touch the door handle and get teleported into the dungeon. This was the dungeon with the Hodag, right?  
I cast an Awareness and there are indeed living beings in this dungeon. The dungeon is lighted like the last. It is also formed like a labyrinth, though not as big as the last. I use the Inscription for orientation, while I sneak forwards. I tried using the method of following the scent of Grabiner, but I couldn't find his trace this time. Soon I reach a deadlock. I decide to use it as an enclosure for the Hodags and imprint this place in my mind. I then go a bit back in the passage and create a barrier using black magic, using the floor on the side of the deadlock. I then return to the junction and continue in a new direction. Soon I reach a junction with a path towards a deadlock and a path with a Hodag. I hide against the wall from the path where I come from and take a deep breath. I risk another glance at the Hodag.  
The Hodag is around twice as tall as I am, with green fur, a lot of horns and teeth as long as my lower arm.  
Wtf?! Isn't that monster way too dangerous for a freshman?  
The Hodags forefeet are raised into the air, showcasing its long and sharp claws, and it takes a step into my direction. Its tail, which swirls around nervously, hits the wall and it loses its balance due to this, crashing with his head horn right into the wall. It yelps, and tries to scratch the wall.  
Ok, I take back that comment about it being too dangerous for freshmen.  
I supress a giggle and concentrate on teleporting it into the enclosure I made for it. After teleporting two more Hodags into the enclosure, I finally find the exit, completely tired out. Potsdam already awaits me, to congratulate me and give me ten merits, five for succeeding and five for not using any violence.  
With this I already have 40 merits. Yei .

At dinner I talk with Ellen and Virginia about the exam. Ellen used a method similar to mine, while Virginia went right against the Hodag, as soon as she noticed it.  
She bragged to us, about how she defeated it with her red magic. To be honest, after seeing the embarrassing show of the first Hodag I met, I kinda feel pity for it. After I settled my treasurer duties on Saturday, I play my clarinet in the conference room. I forgot my music stand, so I use the desk and some accounting books as surrogate. As music notes, I have pieces from various musicals from Andrew Lloyd Weber, such as 'Memories' from Cats and 'Don't cry for me Argentina' from Evita. Apart from that, I also have notes from movie music, such as 'Pirates of the Caribbean' and 'The Godfather'.  
Some of the pieces from the notes my parents gifted me, require too much skill for me to even try playing it, nevermind playing it well. After playing for about one and a half hour, I dismantle my clarinet, clean it and stuff it back into the case. Time for breakfast, I'm starving! But eating right before playing a wind instrument is a mistake, only greenhorns would do.

At the cafeteria I meet Virginia. Looks like she slept even longer than usual today. We eat together and chat a bit about our sports club and what games we want to play. After breakfast I go to the gym with Virginia and we play around a bit. After working up some sweat, we head to lunch together. The afternoon and evening I spent playing some more clarinet and creating another ceiling illusion. The illusion of my face, with which I'm quite familiar and which I practiced creating a lot for my first duel practice, is easier to do than generating some random image of something I just dreamed up. The greater and detailed the image I want to create, the more difficult is casting the illusion, among other reasons due to the fact, that I have to picture the illusion in my head.

On Sunday I head later than usual to breakfast. Virginia was still sleeping though. As I sit down at a window seat again, I hear someone calling my name.  
"Oh, Elise. Good morning." I turn around to Damien, who's standing with a tablet behind me. "Good morning.", I greet him back politely. He smiles at me and decides to sit down on front of me. I suppress a sigh. I turn to my omelettes and quietly start eating. If I ignore him, he will go away, right? Damien also starts eating his bread rolls garnished with pepperoni, so for now I'm safe? "So, do you already have plans for today?", Damien casually asks me, as I was just beginning to relax.  
I nearly choke, but manage to calm myself. I just feel a bit insecure, since this situation is not a game event. "I usually decide what to do spontaneously."  
Although I do wish to be left alone from Damien, I don't want to anger him too much, since he IS dangerous after all. Besides, I do pity him a little bit, since he is incapable of building honest relationships with people. Sure he is mean, and shouldn't be underestimated, but I don't think, that it is simply his nature to be 'evil',  
I think his circumstances turned him into such a self-centred person.  
But as I mentioned, I won't be able to 'save' him, and I don't want to forfeit my life, magic or freedom for trying to do so. "Well, do you want to spend some time with me then?" I look up from my food, surprised at his question. Wasn't he supposed to avoid me more at the academy, since my roommates don't approve of him?  
This situation is intriguing, for now I decide to go with the flow. "Well, what do you usually do in your free time?", I ask, with honest curiosity.  
His smile seems to deepen due to my new-found interest in him. "Apart from dating, of course", I add hastily, in order to push him away a bit.  
I don't wish to become closer to him, after all. He just chuckles at my poor attempt to play the ice-queen.  
He leans closer to me and whispers in my ear, "Care to find out?" I want to, but that would be stupid, right? I'm confident, that I won't fall for him, because players are not my type (I prefer the quiet and cool ones, who are unexpectedly caring), but that doesn't mean I'm safe from him, does it? I'm curious though…  
"So will you tell me?", I ask him, without avoiding his look. I'm a horse after all, I shouldn't be easily intimidated. "No… But I'll show you."  
"I wanted to know, what you do in your spare time, apart from dating.", I dryly comment, emphasizing the word 'apart'. Does he crazily laugh to himself in some mouldy cave, while making plans to subdue the whole world? Does he serve rich noble boys as a butler, to help them avenging their parents in exchange for their soul? Probably not, but I can't imagine him having any normal hobbies, besides seducing people and playing with their hearts.  
To those who object the definition of 'seducing people and playing with their hearts' as 'normal hobby', there are too many people, who at least try to spend their free time doing this, so it may as well be considered a normal hobby.  
Damien just chuckles at my remark. "You want to know, what I do, when I'm alone?" "Yes, how do you entertain yourself, if there is no naïve person around, with whose heart you could play around? No one to seduce? No one, to pretend in front of?", I ask him honestly, without malice in my voice. He hasn't played with my heart, so I can stay calm towards him. I decided to drop this farce. Why should I wait for the next game event to leave Damien's route? Why haven't I tried this sooner? Avoiding the game-fate-thingy feels better anyways. Damien is totally perplexed by my comment. He just stares at me. I patiently wait for him to compose himself.  
He will probably shout angrily at me and leave, won't he? Since he has quite the reputation, it shouldn't damage my image too much, and even if it does, my friends would definitely choose my side. Virginia will probably even celebrate me finally breaking contact with Damien. Damien clears his throat.  
"I don't know what kind of lies they told you, but…" "Oh, save it.", I interrupt him. "I don't know why you became the person you are, and it's not my business anyways, but what do you even try to achieve with pushing everyone away? How will you spend your time, when you're finally all alone, after attaining everything you wished for?" Damien just looks at me, still shocked. "What…", he begins, but simply stops. I sigh.  
"Well, I already know, that you wouldn't tell me anything, so let's simply stop here." Damien grits his teeth. "You damn witch. You just played with me, didn't you? You witches are all the same!", he yells at me while standing up, finally having recovered from his shock. I stay calm. My heart is actually hurting a bit at seeing him so full of wrath. He looks like an injured animal, which has been driven to the edge. "Can you promise me, that you never intended to do something awful to me, like breaking my heart?", I ask him softly while meeting his infuriated glare. A hint of vulnerability seems to be hidden deep in his eyes. I smile sadly. I lost my appetite, so I stand up as well and take my tablet with my half-eaten omelette. Damien still stands there, looking at me thunderstruck. "Good day, Damien.", I bid him goodbye, my voice gentler than intended.  
When I meet Virginia in the gym later, she already heard about our argument and congratulates me, for finally 'driving the devil away', but I choose not to comment the incident with Damien any further.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: An exorcism gone wrong

* * *

At the gym we have our first sports club meeting of the Spring semester, so we play for the first time with magic allowed. To be more precise, we play soccer, and apart from kicking the ball, you're also allowed to use the push-spell to move the ball. This simple addition makes the game already more difficult and a bit more chaotic, but we have a lot of fun. I'm happy to be able to work up a sweat and forget about this morning's incident.  
For classes the next week I decide not to focus on a specific magic colour. I already have some considerate skill in black, blue and green magic, compared to other freshmen. And as for white and red, I'm barely average. Ok, a bit worse than average, but not much.  
On Monday I end up in a lot of classes with Ellen and we spend the break together. While we walk towards our next class through the halls, I notice that Ellen seems to be torn about something. "Is something the matter? Is something on your mind?" She looks up to me. "Actually, yes. I heard from Virginia about you and Damien. Can I ask you some questions before class?" She looks at me pleadingly. "Uh, sure." I let Ellen lead me towards a corner, where we won't get disturbed.  
"Why did you two fight? Did he do something to you?" I shake my head. "No, he didn't, but he would have... Listen, you already have no contact to him, but I want to warn you nonetheless: stay away from Damien. He's dangerous." Ellen seems shocked. "Then… is he really a devil? Is he evil?" "No… I don't think that's it. I don't think that his nature is evil. I don't know what his race is called, but I doubt that it could define him that much." Ellen tilts her head. "You didn't seem to mind him before. I don't understand… That happened?" I sigh. How to explain, that I played with fire, because I wanted to eat funny jelly in the Glen?  
"I know now about how he broke the hearts of many students. He tried the same scam with me..." There was a time, then I didn't know about the hearts Damien broke, for example before I knew Damien. Ellen stays silent for a while. "Do you hate him now? Now that you know what he tried to play you?"  
I'm surprised, at Ellen's determined look. Does she worry about me? "No, rather than hate…" I deliberate. What ARE my feelings towards Damien? Fear, but I can't explain that to Ellen. Apart from that…. "I pity him?" Ellen tilts her head in confusion. "If he acted so mean … then why do you pity him?" Yes, why DO I pity him?  
"I don't know. He just… He reminds me of an injured animal. He bites everyone, who comes close to him. And apart from that… he is incapable of building true relationships. He can't be trusted – because he doesn't trust anyone. That's so lonely… I don't know the reasons as to why he came to be self-centred person he is, and it isn't my business anyway, but… I'm sure it wasn't easy for him as well." We both stay silent for a minute, lost in our thoughts.  
"Anyways, please don't approach him for any reason. Now, let's go to our next class. I don't want to be late to a Grabby-class…" With this last warning, we continue on our way.

While I hurry towards a red magic class from Professor Grabiner on Tuesday, I run across Damien and Pastel flirting with each other. They haven't noticed me so far. Good, I better avoid Damien. As I look for a way to circumvent Damien without being noticed, I hear a bit of their conversation. "- a bit of fun with me? We both know this dance.", Pastel *whispers* to Damien. I say whisper, but I can hear her loud and clear, you know? She behaves, as if she would whisper, but she simply isn't.  
Is that her way of bragging about flirting with the bad boy? To my surprise he gently pushes her away. That's strange. This is just like the game event, but I'm not on Damien's route anymore. "You have bad timing, little fairy. If this were last year, I would be happy to take that offer. But… I have my eyes on someone else right now…" It sounds like a sorry excuse, as if Damien wouldn't even have made much effort in devising it. But that aside, the heck? Why is he still saying that?  
Shouldn't he look for a new victim right now or something? Pastel inches closer to him and rolls her shoulders, shifting sparkles to him. Fairy dust?  
"No one has to know" Damien looks a bit disappointed at her. "You do not have your mother's skills." As in 'I enjoyed her company more' or just as in 'she's famous for seducing'? Probably the latter, which might explain as to why Pastel tries so desperately to seduce everyone she meets.  
A bit disturbed about the fact, that this event still happened, I head towards my class with Grabby on a detour. I often go to Grabiner's classes, not because I like listening to his lovely voice, but because he's actually the best teacher in his magic colours, unless he hates you. Due to his strictness, the classes are quieter and I can better concentrate. He's a bit impatient with explaining, but his knowledge is vaster and more detailed than the knowledge of the other teachers of blue and red magic.  
The rest of the week I'm successful in avoiding Damien and nothing notable occurs. Though I had a slight feeling of being observed. Am I becoming paranoid?  
We have a long weekend, since Monday are no classes due to Kings Day. I wonder what kind of holyday it is, but Virginia doesn't know it herself.

On Tuesday Angela approaches me in the halls. "I heard you finally broke off with Damien? I didn't expect so much brain from you. But then again, it took you quite some time to catch on…", she mocks me. Is she stupid, or something? I thought she would be smarter. "Well, he isn't dangerous, if you don't fall in love with him. Speaking of which, I heard you were dating him?", I calmly retort. Don't expect me to just swallow your insults, Angela. "He told you? I broke up with him."  
I smile at her sweetly. "Yeah, in public. How classy of you. But no, he didn't tell me, he's probably too ashamed to do so anyways."  
Angela glares at me and then just leaves. I guess that means, that I won. I'm really no heroine-material, I won't let myself get bullied.

On Friday I walk around an empty hallway after my last magic class, thinking about what to do on the weekend. I could visit the mall, since I haven't been there for some time. Maybe I get Virginia and some other club members to play dodge ball with me on Sunday. Suddenly Damien obstructs my way. That's odd.  
Shouldn't we both avoid each other? He has enough reason to stay clear of me as well. I want to turn around, but he catches my arm. The heck?  
"Elise?" Damien looks at me pleadingly. The heck?! "Damien, what the…?", I stutter. "I'm sorry. I've been waiting for a chance to talk to you. I…"  
Wait a moment. This. No. This can't be! This is just like Damien's confession event! Wait, no. Calm down, me. Whatever it is, I didn't behave like a stupid goody-two-shoes, naïve enough to die for him, so I definitely shouldn't be his type. Besides, he is no idiot, he wouldn't ask me out, after all what happened.  
"Can we go somewhere more private?" Is this the game-fate-thingy, forcing him to confess to me, even though he should already know, that it is hopeless?  
"There is no one else here." I want to avoid being alone with him in a truly deserted place, if possible. "I don't want someone to overhear." No chance, huh.  
Well, it's not like it would be the middle of the night, I should be able to escape safely, should he try something funny. I nod reluctantly. "Lead the way."  
"Class is over. So if we go to one of the rooms, we shouldn't be disturbed." So far, it's like the confession event. But then, all I would have to do, is to not accept his feelings, in order to be truly safe from him, right? That wouldn't be very difficult, so this thought calms me down. Just go with the flow for now.  
Damien leads me to an empty blue magic class room. "So… what's going on?", I ask with honest curiosity. This whole situation seems so strange to me.  
"This is hard for me. You can't imagine… You don't know.", he begins like in the game, avoiding my gaze. But he seems very serious.  
That's so unlike his usual flirty personality. "I thought it would be easy, but it's not." Usually it vexes me, then the dialogs don't differ from the game, but this time it has a soothing effect. "What?" He turns his gaze towards be. "You. I don't understand how I feel about you. It's different. It's not - I can't control it"  
This part is also like in the game, but this time that doesn't soothes me at all. "I thought I wouldn't care at all, if I wouldn't succeed in seducing you. That I would simply look for a new victim, someone more naïve, someone I could manipulate more easily. But… even though you caught a glimpse of my true nature, you… you don't fear me. You don't hate me." Ok, that definitely differs from the game. But not in a way I particularly like. Rather, it leads to a shiver running down my spine.  
"I can't take it anymore." Suddenly Damien steps closer to me. A lot closer. I can even faintly feel his breath on my face. He's way too close!  
I take a step back, but there is the teachers desk behind me, so I can't stir further away from him.  
"What are you saying?", I reply, my voice sounding weak and broken, due to my fear. Yes, fear, I obviously fear him! "I DO fear you. A lot."  
He chuckles. "And yet, you're neither screaming, nor running away. I have a feeling, you understand how … dangerous I can be, more than you should be able to understand. And yet… you don't call me a monster. You don't call me evil." Not like I could run away right now though? I'm trapped between him and the teacher's desk after all. He leans closer again towards me. With the back of his fingers he lightly strokes my cheek, still smiling at me. His smile is so scary right now.  
The heck! How dare he casually touch me like this? Why am I feeling so weak right now? What is going on anyways? This was not supposed to happen!  
This is so confusing. Damien should be angry at me now! He should never talk to me again! I'm usually so good with following the flow, but this time I fail to compose myself. I try to lean further back and place my hands on the desk behind me, thereby accidently touching a book, in order to support my weight shift.  
"I want you." Another cold shiver strikes my back, leaving me unable to move. My eyes widen in shock. "I want to be with you. I want to touch your lips…"  
"I… I'm sorry. I don't feel the same way…", I stutter, still paralyzed by the situation. Damien doesn't seem to react to this. Isn't he supposed to throw a fit now and leave? So confusing! "I know. But I'm confident, that I can make you feel the same way." And with that he leans in to me, closing the small distance left, and kissing me. My brain freezes. All I can think is: THIS ISN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN! And yet I feel his soft lips on mine, his fingers on my chin. And suddenly… his tongue in my mouth, lightly touching my tongue. My emotions overwhelm me, leaving me motionless. A cough sounds and Damien stops kissing me.  
He clicks his tongue and steps away, while glaring angrily at Professor Grabiner. PROFESSOR GRABINER? What is he doing here?  
"I don't remember giving you permission to use this room as your 'little love nest', Mr. Ramsay.", Grabiner scolds Damien. Man, he looks super-pissed.  
Due to his arrival, I finally snap out of it. I straighten my back and smooth down my robe, before I step in front of Damien and slap his face.  
He just looks at me surprised. What, you didn't expect to be slapped for kissing someone against eirs will? But my slap was way too weak, it didn't even leave a mark. I strengthen my arm with green magic and slap him again.  
"Lesson number 1, if you want to become a decent human be.. uh.. person, don't kiss people against their will." And with that I turned away from him and to a perplexed Grabiner. "Good day, sir." I nod to him and storm out of the room.  
"Twenty-five demerits and detention!" I hear Grabiner yell at Damien behind me. At least he got punished for it.

I further hasten my steps, without caring much as to where they'll lead me. Suddenly Virginia obstructs my way. Where did she come from? "You ok?", she asks me concerned. "…No. Let's… Let's go to the gym, maybe? I think I need to work up a sweat right now.", I answer her with a rough sounding voice. My inner thoughts are a mess. Not because I was just kissed against my will, although that adds to my inner turmoil, but because Damien is obviously interested in me.  
Even though I rejected him. Virginia acts unusually sensible and doesn't ask me what happened, but heads to the gym with me instead. Enough club members have already gathered there and we play dodge ball. I play more aggressive than usual and fully burn my energy.  
As we head back to our dorms, my whole body feels sore. As soon as I reached my room, I throw myself into my bed, burying my face in my pillows. Ok, I calmed down a bit, due to my three-hour workout. So what if Damien is a bit interested in me? It's not like I'm the first person he's interested in, right? He had so many lovers after all… "So, what's gotten into you? You played like a berserk today. Some guys were a bit afraid of you…", Virginia inquires curiously.  
"It's just… ugh. Nothing important, I'm just a bit angry about something. Please don't worry. I'm alright, I just needed to let off some steam."  
The situation is already worse as it is, if I were to tell Virginia about, she would definitely do SOMETHING, and I don't want any weird rumours to spread.  
"Well, if you say so… But you know, that you can come to me, if something is bothering you, right?" I look at Virginia and give her a small smile.  
"Yeah, I know. Thanks. And thank you for taking me to the gym today. I really needed it."  
With that, I managed to stop Virginia from worrying.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: The marriage trap

* * *

This night I slept worse than usual, but despite that I force myself to wake up at 5am and head towards the conference room. Damien still occupies my thoughts,  
but apart from that… I feel like I'm forgetting something? Something important… what was it? I open the door to the post office and freeze in shock.  
On the floor lies a passed out Grabiner and over him hovers a djinn-like creature, only that e has horns and claws.  
Oh right, the Manus. My knees feel weak upon the sight and I kneel down. I look at the calendar – January the 25th. "Run away, little girl. This meat is mine, and I intend to feast.", e tells me, sounding like a movie-villain. I pull myself together and stand up again, while crossing my arms. "Why would I need to run away?  
You're trapped in the circle, after all.", I answer him calmly. Or at least I try to sound calm, but fail pathetically. This situation is a lot scarier in real life after all.  
"Besides, the meat isn't yours, you belong to him." The Manus looks absolutely shocked due to my deduction. "You… how… How did you know, that I can't eat him?", the Manus asks me completely perplexed. I shrug. "Just a hunch. Grabby wouldn't summon something dangerous, if I could burst into this room any minute, so he obviously already lies there for quite some time, and yet you haven't eaten him." And with that I turn to the door, to look out for Potsdam.  
"Wait, you…! You don't care about him? You're just gonna leave him here with me?", the Manus asks me. I roll my eyes at him. "Of course I care about him. A lot.  
But I'm no match for you. He would be very angry at me, if I would run towards him. So I'm gonna look for someone, who is a match for you."  
With that, I open the door and step out. And… don't run into Potsdam. The hell? Where is she. Frantically I look around. She's nowhere to be seen. I cast Awareness, but I can't detect her presence. I look back at Grabiner. Another change in the game flow? I don't want to leave him alone here. How long is he lying there already? What if he swallows his tongue? He is lying flat on his back and in the first-aid-course I attended in school, they warned us about such situations.  
But no, he was fine in the game. He would wake up, as soon as I rushed into the circle and be attacked by the Manus. Now, how do I contact Potsdam? I'm not good enough at white magic to contact her spirit, if I don't know where she is. I go back into the room and bend down to look at Grabiner.  
"Oh, you're back, little girl?" The Manus bends down and strokes Grabiner's cheek with one of its claws. "Did you change your mind and want to rush in, to save him?", he teases me. "Don't touch him!", I hiss at him. I take a deep breath. Gotta calm down, I'm beginning to lose my composure.  
I could simply use Farspeak, to speak to the door of her office? The door is enchanted in a complicated way, maybe Potsdam will be able to hear it. I decide to try it. "Professor Potsdam, please come to post room! Grabiner is in danger, please hurry.", I send the message. Nothing happens.  
I start to pace around the room, biting my nails. "Dammit!", I swear. I don't want to leave Grabiner alone. I simply can't. What to do? I have to wake him up somehow. "Sir? Professor? Wake up!", I sit down near the pentagram and call out to him. He doesn't move. "Sir?! Wake up, Sir!" My voice grows louder.  
"Sir, please wake up! Grabiner! Grabby! Wake up!" He still doesn't move. This isn't supposed to happen. Why is this happening? If I wouldn't have broken the game flow, would he then be alright? "Wake up!", I crawl a bit towards him, careful not to touch the circle and yell at him. Why isn't he waking up?  
I have to change my method. But how? I look around. There lies a pencil on the desk. I rush towards it and throw the pencil at Grabby.  
"Sir, wake up!", I yell while throwing. I miss. Wow, how shameful.  
I rummage through the cupboards. My eyes start to sting a bit. In one I find some water bottles, but I would risk destroying the pentagram, if I would use them to wake up Grabby. I frantically keep searching, growing more and more desperate. Apart from the water bottles... Paper stacks? Useless… Paperclips… Useless! Envelopes… Also useless! A glass of marbles – bingo. Why are there marbles? I take the glass and open the lid. Then I take a marble out and stand close to Grabby. "Sir, wake up", I continue yelling at him, while aiming with the marble at his head. I miss. I take another and this time I hit his head, but he doesn't even twitch.  
I take out another and try to step a bit closer, without touching the pentagram.  
Suddenly I feel something under my foot and a small gust of wind touches my shoulder. I shriek, while I lose my balance and fall into the circle, on Grabiner.  
My head hits his stomach and he groans. Sh*t. Now I'm in trouble. "Wake up, Sir", I cry and shake his shoulders. I hear the Manus laugh at me from behind, while his claws grasp my neck and he drags me from Grabiner. He slowly starts to squeeze my neck while laughing like a maniac. I suddenly feel dizzy and more and more tired. "Fool. This one was protected. But you have crossed the wards that bind me…" Yeah, well we already clarified that, didn't we? "Elise!", I suddenly hear Potsdam shout from the door. Great, now she is here? Well, better late than too late, I guess. "You will not touch that child!", she commands the Manus.  
"She is my rightful prey", counters the Manus. "She is… of the house of Grabiner.", Potsdam continues in a depressed voice.  
Grabiner finally woke up and looks around confused, while he sits up. As he catches sight of me, his expression hardens. "She is his affianced bride, whom he has pledged to marry this very day!", Potsdam dramatically declares. "…It is so sworn.", Grabiner reluctantly responds.  
The spirit vanishes while hissing frustrated and I can breathe again. "You absolute imbecile!", Grabiner yells at me furiously. My cheeks start to feel a bit wet, but he IS right. How the f**** did I manage to trip into the pentagram? Even though I knew of the dangers. I'm an IDIOT!  
"Not here, Hieronymus.", Potsdam interferes. "Do you know, what you've done?", he continues to shout at me. Yes, unfortunately I do know, what I've done, but that just makes it worse. "She was trying to save your life. Surely you wouldn't want her to lose her soul for such an act.", Potsdam tries to sooth Grabiner.  
She's awfully relaxed. "I'm not sure this is an improvement.", Grabiner snaps at her. "I'm sorry…" I supress a sob. "In the future, Miss Ojousama, you should learn not to meddle with things you do not understand!" Dammit, what's wrong with me? Why do I lack so much composure these days?  
"Not here, please. We should speak away from the watch.", Potsdam reminds Grabiner. "I will take her away and explain. We see you again at noon?"  
"As I appear to have little choice.", Grabiner hisses at Potsdam. I pick myself up and head with Potsdam to the door.  
I take another glance at the room. Grabiner gruntingly started cleaning up the whole mess. He looks at the marbles confused and then puts them back into the glass. He touches his face for a moment, while doing so. Does it hurt?

"Now, come with me, Dear. It's better to leave him alone now." Potsdam softly grabs my shoulder and leads me to her office. It was an empty classroom in the game, wasn't it? Well, this place makes more sense anyways. I take a deep breath and sit down on one of the chairs in front of her desk. Something bothers me, but I can't quite grasp what it is. "So… " I stop, unsure on how to continue. "Professor Grabiner recently came into possession of a Manus, a guardian spirit sworn to the service of his family line. He has been… experimenting with it. When you crossed the containment wards, it began to feed on you. The only way to save you was to cause the spirit to recognize you as a rightful member of the family it serves." I sigh. "He has to marry me now, right?", I ask, even though I already know the answer.  
"Yes, my Dear. A wizard's word is binding. A Manus would not be fooled by simple trickery.", she replies in a sad tone of voice. "Therefore you will have to marry him. Today.", she adds with a light smile. Wait a minute. She doesn't seem to be actually sad! Is she secretly glad about the whole situation?  
"Professor… you're not actually GLAD about how things panned out, right?", I ask her aghast. "But you tried to save him, and now he is saving you. Isn't that romantic?" I'm stunned. Is this whole ordeal just some kind of soap opera for her?! I rub my temples. "Professor Grabiner is going to kill me.", I dryly remark.  
As soon as he finds out, that Potsdam is entertaining herself on his expenses, I'm dead meat.  
"Really, his bark is worse than his bite. Haven't you noticed that by now?", Potsdam chirps. This woman drives me crazy. I just continue massaging my temples.  
"There is no other way. The oath has been given. To break that now would cost his magic and your life. This isn't forever. You will be joined for a year and a day, that's all. After that, your promise has been kept, and you can go your separate ways." I can pick out of her voice, that she wants our promise to be kept longer.  
At least try to hide your opinion on this matter more!  
"I'm sure this isn't quite the wedding a girl dreams of, but I have some lovely robes that should fit you, and I think it will all turn out for the best. Perhaps you'll even come to like each other!", Potsdam laughs heartily. Could you please be a bit less enthusiastic about this wedding?! I sigh. "The mail?" "Oh, don't worry about that.  
My little helper will see to it." So Donald will do that, huh. I wonder, if he will be suspicious, he is quite clever after all. But Minnie is the one, who will spill the beans. "Now, we need the ribbons, and a basket, and a witness, and I'll need to alter the dress…" Potsdam excitedly begins to plan our secret emergency wedding.

I stay quietly in my chair, while Potsdam runs around and organizing everything. I glance around in the room. Potsdam has some plants standing here and there and a huge bookshelf, filled with rare-looking books. Her desk is mostly hidden under different documents. In a corner behind her desk stands a kettle with dried plants and some instruments used for potion-making over it. Next to the kettle are two shelves, one filled to the brim with potions and another filled with glasses with special ingredients. Next to the wall to the left of my, stands a big couch with a lot of cushions on it. The couch is big enough to also function as a bed. The main colours used for the interior are light green and light brown, but due to the various flowers it's rather colourful in here. The chairs are well-padded and very comfortable, making me relax a bit. Since I'm finally composed again, I start to recall what happened. Something felt wrong, what could it be?  
I gaze around in the room again, absent-mindedly. On the shelf with the ingredients for potion-making I spot a glass filled with colourful, small balls.  
They kind of look like candy. Suddenly it strucks me. "Marbles!", I exclaim. "Marbles? What marbles? Whatever, here, an apple for you. It's your breakfast." Potsdam appears next to me and thrusts an apple in my hand. I reluctantly take the apple and stare Potsdam directly in the eyes.  
"I threw only 3 marbles. But Grabiner picked up five.", I remark, still looking at her. "Oh my, what an interesting observation, Dear. But you should eat.", Potsdam chirps. "I wonder, where the other marbles came from. Anyways, what a coincidence, that I couldn't find you, Professor Potsdam, but as soon as I fell into the pentagram, you appeared just in time to save me." Potsdam laughs cheerfully. "Oh my, you're such a smart girl. Now, eat, I still need to arrange a few things, before I can prepare your wedding outfit." I'm speechless. Absolutely speechless. WHAT IS WRONG WITH HER? How can someone like this become headmistress?

Meanwhile Potsdam drags me to a bathroom next to her office and commands me to wash my hands multiple times and I obediently obey. After that she hands me a white dress and while I try it on, I composed myself enough for another try. "So, why exactly am I 'accidently' getting married to my teacher, Professor Potsdam?  
Why would someone go so far as to trip her own student with a Breeze-spell and some marbles into a circle with a soul-eating monster?"  
"And not to mention a Manus as well", Potsdam jokes. The heck? "My, you even noticed the Breeze-spell, how clever. Well, I work with Hieronymus for about eight years, it's time that he changes his grumpy attitude.", she continued, at least a bit more serious. That is all? You didn't like his constantly sour mood?  
"May I ask, why me? Apart from that, I don't think he will change his grumpy attitude, just because he was forced to marry a minor. I'm afraid it might even have the opposite effect.", I inquire, still managing to stay calm. Finally, I'm back at going with the flow.  
"Darling, he was never so interested in another student, I don't know anyone more suited than you. I wanted to give you the choice initially; if you rush in to save him, you would marry him, and if you would look for help instead, then I would think of something else. However, the circumstances have changed. I heard about your incident with Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Ramsay is dangerous, but he was careful to never do something, which could get him expelled. Nevertheless, he has shown an unusual amount of interest in you, cupcake. I'm sure the marriage will protect you in more than one way." Potsdam tone of voice sounds way too jovial for discussing something so serious. The thought, that my marriage could actually protect me from Damien's affections calms me down a bit.  
With a chuckle Potsdam leans towards me. "Besides, you should have seen Hieronymus face, when he told me Damien kissed you. You could have boiled a pot of water with his anger, it was really cute." Somehow, I get the feeling, that this was the more important factor…  
Apart from that, I can't imagine Grabiner's angry face as 'cute'. I think it's rather scary. "But… how did you manage to arrange for this all? Won't Hieron- Professor Grabiner suspect you?", I ask her perplexed. "Oh well, he's too occupied with being angry to wonder why his concentration was drained so fast. It was also his first time doing that ritual, so he will simply think, that he would have miscalculated it a bit. And to keep him sleeping, until I could push you into that circle, was really not a big task. As for the room, well I was the one to suggest the post office, but I had good arguments, so he won't suspect a thing." I think about her words for a while. "But, aren't you afraid of me telling him all about this?", I question her. Potsdam laughs about my question. "But Darling, you're a smart girl. You know Hieronymus,  
he wouldn't continue working here, if he knew, that I did that to him. But you're his wife and a student here. Besides, you know, that I didn't mean harm."  
Is… is that blackmail? "If Professor Grabiner wouldn't have agreed on marrying me, I could have died!", I accuse her.  
"But he would never let a student die for his mistakes, if there was a way to save em. And even if that would have been the case, unlikely as it is, I'm more than capable of dealing with one Manus, don't worry." I slouch my shoulders. "I feel so weak due to the attack. Got my soul damaged?"  
Potsdam comfortingly touches my shoulder. "No, your energy just got a bit drained. You'll be able to get it back in no time, don't worry. You're an exceptional student to begin with. So, I'm finished with the dress, wanna see?" I step towards the mirror Potsdam points at.  
It's a medieval dress, which is composed out of an upper dress in white and an underdress in blue, matching my eye colour. The upper dress is laced around my waist, and my sleeves are very long. Potsdam had adjusted the colour to fit my eye colour using black magic. The rand of the fabric of the upper dress is embroidered. I really like it, to be honest. "Now, let me do your hair as well." Potsdam sits me down on a stool, opens my pony tail and starts to comb my hair. She braids my hair at the sides, joining the braided hair strands at the back of my head to one strand. It's a simple hairdo, but a put-up hairdo wouldn't suit the medieval-like dress.  
With this, our preparations have finished and Potsdam leads me down through a hidden door to a narrow stone corridor.

Soon we arrive at a wide open room, lit with candles. Wow, this place is so romantic, I think sarcastically to myself. Not that it matters, this is a marriage in name only.  
I wasn't married before, but it shouldn't be a big deal, given the circumstances. Minnie has already arrived and is waiting for us.  
I bet she didn't know her class president duties would include being witness for a secret wedding between a teacher and a student.  
Minnie approaches me to squeeze my hand and tries to smile in order to comfort me. Somehow I feel calmer than her though? I hear a cough behind me.  
I slowly turn around to face Grabiner with a calm expression. He wears some kind of red coloured robe, which suits him very well. He usually dresses so plain and inconspicuous, that I'm really surprised at seeing him actually wearing something so colourful. It suits him though. A hint of a smile appears on my lips.  
He's really good-looking; my husband is handsome at least. Could be worse.  
After this quick assessment, I turn to Potsdam, before he starts glaring at me for staring at him. She claps her hands. "Shall we begin?" I simply nod, while Grabiner grunts something about getting done with it. "Come and stand with me then." We walk in step across the stone floor, each of us carrying a basket. His basket holds a tree branch, while mine contains an ear of corn. The baskets are decorated with ribbons, blue and orange ones for me and black and gold ones for him.  
These wedding traditions are so strange. "We have assembled today, to join the hands of these two people in marriage. They appeared here before us, out of their own free will" …Well, it's not really volunteering, if the other option is dying, but I guess, it's free enough. "… to pledge upon their honour as magical beings to be loyal to each other. Honour and loyalty, these are the pillars, our magical society is built upon…" Man, it's such a long speech, and we're like, just standing here.  
I glance towards Grabiner. He looks almost as bored as I am. His brows are furrowed; doesn't he get tired of it? Or are his face muscles cramped, and he is actually incapable of relaxing his expression? I look back at Potsdam, before he notices me staring. Potsdam still cheerfully chirps about loyalty and honour and how important these two things are. "… and with each, the gifts provided for the other … " Ok, now is our cue.  
I turn back to Grabiner and present the basket to him with my left hand. "I give to you my kindness and courage.", I make my oath calmly, while looking at him.  
He holds my basket with his right hand, while presenting me his with his left. "I give to you my wisdom and my protection." I could use some wisdom.  
And some protection as well, as Potsdam hinted. I reach out to his basket with my right hand, while still holding onto my own with my left hand. Minnie and Potsdam step to our sides, to drape the dangling ribbons over our hands. "As two streams join a river, so your two lives join to create something greater than they were.  
One family and one future, for one year and one day are ye bound." Is the marriage automatically invalid after a year and one day? Or is that simply the minimum time for a magical marriage?  
"You may now kiss the bride." Potsdam, you're way too optimistic. Please don't embarrass me just due to your impossible dreams. "Is that strictly necessary?"  
Potsdam looks away, disappointed that it didn't work. "Well, no." "Then I have no intention of demeaning myself."  
Yeah, well, maybe it's demeaning to me too? To be kissed by a man, who doesn't love me, that's simply awful. Even if that man is handsome. I sigh.  
I better just shut up, he has enough reason to be angry at me, after all. Grabiner lets go of the baskets and steps away, while I still hold onto them.  
Should I place them down? They're not heavy though and I probably have to carry them back, so I keep them.  
"Well then, I see you in a year for the severance.", Grabiner says to me, while smiling evilly. Is he trying to hurt me or something?  
Furthermore, he'll see me for the severance? So we need a divorce, that means, we would stay married otherwise, right?  
"I will still visit your classes though, Sir?", I reply calmly, totally ignoring the mood he tried to set up.  
"Hieronymus, don't be cruel. She's your wife now.", Potsdam scolds him playfully. She just sees him as a child, doesn't she? Is it because she is in fact really old?  
I wonder how old exactly. Hundred? More than hundred? She looks as if she would be around forty to fifty years old, but she very skilled in green magic.  
"We should all go for a nice meal together.", Potsdam proposes cheerfully. "She may be my wife in name, but that is the end of it.", he comments dryly.  
Then he turns to me, "You are to stay out of my way. Do not expect special treatment or privileges. You will not use my name, you will not enter my rooms and no one is to know about this. Do you understand?" "Well, yeah, that is kind of obvious?", I remark. Ok, I'm a bit irritated, I admit. I'm emotionally tired, ok?  
I had a lot to deal with lately. "I hope this whole affair has taught you the cost of foolishness." Indeed. For example, it was foolish to trust Potsdam.  
And it was also foolish to rebel against the game-fate-thingy. I should simply have used the knowledge I had about the game to my advantage.  
Why didn't I play with the flower stones with Damien? Why did I reject him in the cafeteria? No, I simply shouldn't have taken his hand in the beginning.  
Damn you, funny jelly! If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have acted nicely towards Damien in the beginning!  
"Goodbye, 'Miss' Ojousama." "Ms Ojousama-Grabiner.", Potsdam teases him. She is surprisingly mean, isn't she? Grabiner just sighs and rolls his eyes at her.  
I guess he is also emotionally exhausted. Grabiner sweeps away and I turn to Potsdam. "And now?" Is it finally time to go to the Glen? "I think that's largely up to you." That's not what I asked… "Elise… here." Minnie gifts me an envelope with 25 Dollar. "You ought to have some sort of wedding present."  
"Thank you Minnie. That's extremely nice of you.", I honestly thank her. "Yes, that's right. And we will go out for a lovely meal, even if the groom doesn't care to attend. But first we'll need you to get out of those robes."


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18: The wedding feast

* * *

We go back to Potsdam's office via the secret stone path and I change back into my school uniform. Potsdam drives us then in a van to the parking lot next to the mall and we head towards the Glen. We sit down in a nice corner and Potsdam starts ordering for us. The first dish are salmon crepes with cream cheese, cut into small bites. They taste extremely refreshing, I wonder if it is due to magic. "I'll go to the bath room for a while, my buttercups. I have to powder my nose."  
She means that literally, right? "Why do you need to powder your nose?", I ask out of curiosity. Potsdam laughs childishly. "To lessen my sense of smell.  
A side-effect of my green magic. Wanna see my nose powder? But I don't recommend powdering your nose with it, it would ruin your taste after all."  
She shows me a powder tin with a sparkly violet powder. So she needs to diminish her sense of smell from time to time, huh?  
What is she able to smell, if she wouldn't do that?

As Potsdam heads to the bath room, Minnie shifts towards me. "Are you alright?", she inquires out of honest concern. She's such a goody-two-shoes.  
I really like her, but she's way more fitted to be the heroine than me, since she completely fulfils the cliché. I ponder over her question. Am I alright?  
This whole situation feels so unreal to me. It's like I haven't really realized that I'm MARRIED. To Grabiner. But it's just in name only. "I'm relatively alright. It's just in name anyway. Besides, it could be worse. And I don't mind it being Grabiner. Though it's scary to be hated by him." Right now, he's blinded by rage, and his rage is directed against me. "I don't think he hates you. I think he hates this situation.", Minnie comforts me. Ok, she's probably right. He might be angry at me, but to say that he would hate me, is an exaggeration. He just can't stand me right now. "Well, but he can't stand me right now. It is my fault after all, that he was forced into this situation.", I remark dryly. "You were just doing your job. It was because of his mistake, that you were in danger." Well, that might be what he thinks, which makes him probably hate the situation even more, since he'll blame himself, but the truth is, that this ordeal occurred due to my meddling with the game-fate-thingy and Potsdam's devious scheming. I wonder, if he would hate this more or less, if he knew the truth. But I don't plan on telling him.  
"But don't remind him of that, or he probably will hate you. He's proud man." Yes, he definitely is. Maybe it's due to him being a noble?"You know him surprisingly well.", I comment honestly. "I did research. That's what I'm good at." You did research on Grabiner? Why? How? Are you a spy or something?  
"He doesn't like people prying though. Don't push him." And yet he has no problem with you. You're extremely good at spying on people, aren't you?  
What an unexpected side of Minnie. "Treat him with respect and be patient. Don't let him frighten you off. He'll calm down."  
I wonder, if a spy like Minnie really would 'accidently' spill secret information, such as the marriage between him and me. Maybe I'm just paranoid, due to the shocking truth about Professor Potsdam though. "Hold on to yourself, alright? It will be okay.", Minnie continues comforting me.

Then Professor Potsdam returns and we the next dish also arrives. It's called giggle-salad. It got its name from its dressing, as it will make you laugh.  
I wonder, if the non-magical world would declare the component responsible for our giggle fits as drugs? Whatever, I fully enjoy this magical dish.  
Or at least I try to, but though I'm sniggering like a little girl, I'm unable to fully relax. There are simply too many things on my mind, such as 'who else is the opposite from what e seems to be?' and 'would I be able to make our marriage actually work, if I try?' or even 'what would have happened, if I would have behaved differently?'. "Ah, this brings back memories of my fourth marriage. We also ordered giggle-salad as an appetizer, but the chef made a mistake in reading the order and made gaggle-salad instead. Well, we married on rather short notice, so such mistakes are too be expected, I guess. However, due to this the wedding guest were babbling so much, that no one could understand a thing, but no one was able to stop talking. The salad was delicious though, so everyone just kept eating it, mostly chattering about how good it was.", Potsdam reminisces with a smile, distracting me from my thoughts.  
"Your fourth marriage?", I follow up. "Yes, e was a dashing Vila. Eirs beauty was really beyond compare." What the hell is a Vila?  
"Vilas are not female?", Minnie asks confused. What the hell is a Vila? "No Darling, Vilas appear to be female, but they can actually be both. Most define emself as female anyways though." What the hell is a Vila? "What are Vilas?", I finally ask. "Vilas are water spirits. Well, most of them prefer to live near the water. They often saved maidens, who wanted to kill themselves through drowning, since they have a thing for female beauty. Since they look like beautiful maidens themselves as well, they often got confused as ghosts of unwilling brides.", Potsdam explains to me. So interesting. "Why don't we learn more about magical beings at school?  
It seems to be important to know about them.", I further inquire her. "Well, you will, but not as freshmen. As freshmen you should learn the basics of magic, before you do anything else." I see. I hope I get to attend such a class. I have to admit, that I miss my last life less with each passing day. Studying magic is really fun.  
I wonder, if I will be able to stay in this world after the May Dance? Somehow, I really wish to continue my studies here.  
Potsdam continues to tell us about how they met under a willow tree at full moon and instantly fell in love with each other. E took Potsdam to eirs underwater palace and they married the very next day. Potsdam stayed there for fifteen years (!), until she went back to her old house to get some of her old things. She wanted to return to her husband-wife (she calls em husfe), but couldn't enter the palace. E thought Potsdam would have wanted to run away and waited in front of the lake to demand a divorce from her. Potsdam was heartbroken and wanted to explain herself, but e wouldn't listen. After arguing for two days (!), Potsdam surrendered and returned to her old home. Two days later she met a Satyr and instantly got married.  
"I was heartbroken, you know. I really needed someone to care for me." Two hours later, she found out, that the Satyr had married her in the hope to benefit from her magical reputation. Disappointed she divorced em, as soon as the year and one day was over.  
Her stories were interesting and managed to distract me from my complicated thoughts, but they also made it clear, that Potsdam doesn't seem to take marriage very seriously. "It's a way to bond two people together, you know? Wandering live alone is so sad. Marriage is a good cure against loneliness. Right now, I'm happy with my life at Iris Academy, but if someone interesting came along, I might not say no to em. However, I gotten married so often, I don't really want to marry again.  
E would have to be really special, in order to catch my heart.", Potsdam laments. I'm really starting to wonder, what kind of drugs Potsdam is growing in her backyard.

"If you were married so often, then do you have children?", I blurt out. I mean, she should have tons of children, right? But why don't we know about any?  
Suddenly Potsdam's expression grows really dark for a short moment. I guess, that was the wrong topic. "Let's change the topic away from my private life. What about your parents, Elise? How did they meet?" "Uh, my father had married his girlfriend, after finding a job. He thought, that he would have impregnated her, but then found out four months after the baby was born, that the real father was a friend of his. My mother was his divorce lawyer; he was her first case."  
Potsdam sighs dreamily. "How romantic." What about it is romantic?! I remember being disappointed as a child after hearing the story, because it wasn't romantic at all. "Your mother helped your father in getting revenge, while also healing the wounds of his heart." Well, that is also a way to look at it, I guess.  
But a story about revenge still can't be considered romantic, can it?  
The next dish arrives, this time it's thin slices of meat with a dark-red sauce and some kind of green turnips. "It's snow forest boar. It is supposed to increase strength. Well, it's not a magic cure or something like that, but it's good for nurturing people back to health.", Potsdam cheerfully chirps. I thank her, since I still feel a bit weak due to the Manus' attack. The meat is really tender and the sauce complements the taste well. Potsdam entertains us with small magic tricks, while we eat, to keep distracting me from over-thinking things. I'm thankful for that, to be honest. As magic tricks, she lets small paper-birds and paper-butterflies fly, or makes other paper animals dance, shapes the flame of our candle into a flower, or lets water drops in our glasses dance to the background music of the restaurant.  
Though I'm thankful for the distraction, I get the feeling, that she treats me like a baby, trying to comfort it by dangling a keychain in front of it.

As last dish before the dessert, they serve us small pastries, made out of Otherworld-vegetables. They don't have any special effects, but they taste a bit unusual.  
In a yummy way, though. Potsdam keeps entertaining us, by telling us about the time she wanted to start a magical plants farm. She made the mistake of growing the mandrake to close to each other, and they started to attack each other. Apparently, mandrake possess the intelligence of chickens and are able to communicate dissatisfaction via screaming and satisfaction via purring. Only their mood is mostly either dissatisfied with something or neutral.  
They're very picky about their soil and hate being planted near other mandrakes or being pulled out of their soil, but apart from that they don't care much about what happens, even cutting them up is fine with them.  
The mandrake-riot caused a lot of trouble for Potsdam, but the reason she gave up on her farm were the flesh-eating ivy and the giant Venus flytrap,  
as they would sometimes try to eat visitors. Especially the flesh-eating ivy was problematic, since it's very agile. Potsdam often had to use fire to save the visitors, forcing her to regrow the flesh-eating ivy time and time again. I made a mental note to myself to never visit a magical farm. Or at least none with flesh-eating plants. To my question, as to why she kept growing the flesh-eating plants, if she could have just grown other magical plants, who won't try to eat visitors, Potsdam just chuckled. "But Darling, where is the fun in operating a farm, if you can't grow the plants you REALLY want to grow? These plants are extremely useful, you know?"

Then the complimentary dessert arrives, I'm so full, I nearly want to skip them. But this strawberry candy is just so delicious! Besides, not eating it would probably be rude. Professor Potsdam pays the bill, and we head back to the academy. As soon as I reach my dorm room, I throw myself onto my bed. "You ok?", Ellen asks.  
I just show her thumbs up and mumble "All good." Virginia also looks at me. "There were you the whole day?" I raise myself up from my pillow.  
"I was with Minnie. You?" "At the mall with Ellen. We wanted to take you with us, but couldn't find you." "Yeah, Minnie and I had to do work due to my treasurer duties…" Marrying Grabiner was quite the piece of work and my treasurer duties were the reason for ending up in this marriage in the first place.  
With this excuse I stopped Ellen and Virginia inquiring further into how my day went, since there aren't many things more boring than my treasurer duties.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Explaining my marriage to my stalker

* * *

On Sunday I roam the halls. I want to go play clarinet, but I don't dare to visit the post office for some reason. I'm afraid of meeting Grabiner, but he has no reason to go there, so why the f***k am I hesitating? Suddenly someone grabs my shoulder and I turn around.  
"Elise! Where were you yesterday? I kept looking for y…" Damien stops mid-sentence. "Someone already claimed my prize… " Your PRIZE? "Excuse me?"  
"I suppose it was too much to expect. Well played, Potsdam. To think she would mar-" I interrupt him, by placing my hand on his lips. "Not here, idiot.", I hiss at him. He looks surprised at me. But then his expression changes, and I can't read, what's on his mind. I nod towards an empty class room. One, in which Grabiner never teaches. Though I was quite happy about his interruption of our conversation last time, I'm avoiding him right now after all.

Damien obediently follows me and I take my hand from his mouth. "As you're aware, I'm married. This was not my decision, and the marriage in itself is in name only. However, you probably already know, that dating other people would result in me losing my magic. In my case I would also lose my life, so it would be REALLY nice of you, if you don't continue with your plans of wanting to seduce me. Furthermore, I'd really, really appreciate it, if you wouldn't tell anyone about this.", I explain to him, while giving him a pleading look. Damien just looks at me, thinking about something. "Ok, I will do you this favour. As long as you don't develop feelings for …?"  
He looks at me questioningly. Oh Hell NO. "I won't tell you. You don't need to know and if news about my marriage would get out, it would be better if the rumours would only involve me.", I deny him. He clicks his tongue in disappointment. What were you planning to do with this information?  
"Anyways, since I don't have any other choice, I'll wait for you for a year and a day.", he says while smiling at me flirtatiously.  
"You don't need to wait for me though? There are plenty of fish in the sea…", I respond, unshaken from his attempt to seduce me. "Not if you're a shark, then most fish flee on your sight.", he shots down my argument. "What about other sharks then?", I counter. Why do I participate in this ridiculous argument?  
"Not interested in them.", he pouts. I sigh and rub my temples. "I don't understand, why you're interested in me. You should be angry at me at most."  
Damien chuckles. "Why so insecure? You're really lovely." Lovely? Me? Besides, I'm not feeling insecure about this? "Lovely enough to tempt the devil?", I tease him.  
He seems to be pleased about how this conversation proceeds. I better bring the cold atmosphere back.  
"Well, it doesn't matter. I don't have any feelings for you. Thank you for the favour. I still have other appointments. Good bye, Damien.", I bid him goodbye in the coldest voice I can muster. I still have to opt my ice-queen-game, I assess disappointed, as Damien waves me goodbye with a smile.  
Due to my cynical nature I had problems in socialising in my last life, so why can't I repel Damien? It doesn't make any sense.  
My only explanation for this phenomenon is that it's the game-fate-thingy's revenge for trying to break the game flow. But apart from Damien, my cynical nature doesn't seem to hinder me in socialising here, the way it had in my last life. Though I'm only friends with my roommates, I get along well with a lot of my class mates.

I walk towards the gym to look for Virginia. Me having an appointment was obviously just an excuse to escape Damien. Virginia is in the gym, as expected, and I join the club members in playing soccer with a twist (a bit of magic). Similar to last time, I burn my whole energy while playing, as I still have a lot on my mind.  
Even more now, but I'm calmer and less aggressive than last time nonetheless. I stretch my arms and legs after playing. I have to stay flexible.  
Virginia approaches me. "You went all out this time as well. Is there a reason you're so pumped up lately?", she questions me in a relaxed manner.  
She doesn't seem to be very suspicious. "No, I'm just stressed out a bit lately. Maybe I should study less." Virginia laughs. "Yeah, you should do it like me and attend gym more often. You and Ellen study way too much! It is our youth after all, we should use it." I chuckle. "Well, if you would study more green magic, you might be able to enjoy your youth longer. Like Potsdam.", I tease her. "Yeah, but Potsdam was already a hag, before she stopped aging, so I don't plan on doing that."  
To call Potsdam an old hag is exaggerated. She looks around forty or in her late thirties, in my opinion. We continue horsing around while heading back to our room.  
To say we horse around is especially fitting, since we are horses. I wonder if that is the reason, as to why our hall is called Horse Hall.

On Monday morning I stare at the class schedule for this week. The teachers are allowed to choose the classes they want to teach, but each magic colour has to be represented enough. Most teachers simply stick to a schedule, which fits their needs, but sometimes they have private obligations and classes are cancelled, and some teachers want to offer more or less classes, depending on their mood. Since they can choose their classes for the week, changes in the schedule only happen in cases of sickness. In that case, a note usually informs the students about the cancellation in the classroom, the class was supposed to take place.  
Due to my game knowledge I know, that it will be better to avoid classes with Grabiner. I decide to simply focus on black magic and green magic a bit.

After classes in the afternoon, Virginia, Ellen and I chat in our room for a bit. Virginia is telling us the newest gossips, she's surprisingly always well informed about such things. "Did you hear?", she says excitedly. "Hear what?", Ellen responds. Something seems familiar? "Somebody saw Professor Potsdam walking around this weekend carrying baskets – and a long white dress!" Dammit, Potsdam, couldn't you be a little bit more careful? Seriously, what is wrong with her? "So?", Ellen inquires confused, not knowing the magical wedding traditions. "Wedding baskets!" They looked like normal baskets to me… "Maybe she got secretly married.", Virginia exclaims enthusiastic. I don't think she would make a secret out of her wedding. She is way too bold for that. But then again, she might think it would be more romantic, if it were a secret. "Oh!" Now Ellen also looks interested. "Are baskets associated with weddings that much?", I ask out of curiosity.  
There is still so much to learn about the culture of the magical society. "Are they for flowers?", Ellen wonders. I stop myself from telling her, that they're for corn and tree branches instead. "No, it's the exchange of gifts." "But if Professor Potsdam was getting married, why would she keep it a secret?", Ellen doubts.  
Good point, Ellen. As expected, you understand the Professors better than Virginia.  
"Maybe she married a hideous troll and didn't want anyone else to see. Or Grabiner.", Virginia counters. I have to object, Grabiner is not as bad as a hideous troll.  
"I don't think Grabiner would volunteer to marry anyone.", I dryly remark.  
Things are different, if he would be forced to marry that someone, in order to save eirs life, of course.  
"I think you're jumping to conclusions.", Ellen adds. "She was probably just cleaning out her closet or something." Thankfully they drop the topic with that.  
I'm good at acting occasionally, since I'm good at going with the flow, but I'm not good at outright lying to people.

On Thursday I have a lot of classes with Ellen again, so we head together from class to class. As I sit down for the next, I remember, that this was one of Grabiner's blue magic class. I had taken this class often, but had changed to classes from Professor Kralik and Professor Bodkin. Kralik teaches blue and Bodkin red.  
"Ah, I forgot, I, uh… wanted to attend another class today. Sorry Ellen, see you later." I grab my stuff frantically and head to the door, nearly colliding with Grabiner.  
Oh great, too late. "Class is about to start. Sit down." He glares at me. He… isn't simply letting me go? I would've thought, he would try to help me escape, since he can't stand my presence right now. "Yes, sir.", I answer intimidated and head back to my seat next to Ellen.  
"I hope it wasn't something important.", she tries to comfort me. I seem to look really pitiful right now.  
During class, I concentrate on my textbook and don't dare to ask questions. To my surprise, Grabiner mostly ignores me, though he does ask me a few questions I shouldn't be able to answer yet. Since blue magic is one of my fortes, I manage to answer some of the questions partly, but I mostly answer with, "I don't know, Sir. I'm sorry." All in all, it wasn't as bad as expected though. I mean, he WAS a bit harsher to me than usual, and he's usually pretty harsh, but I could totally deal with it. Class ends and I finish reading my paragraph, before I pack my stuff and head out. Although I was able to learn in this class, I will avoid him tomorrow as well.  
If he is so grumpy towards me, then I might as well attend the classes of the other Professors. I can at least ask them questions, though Professor Kralik is not as good at explaining as Grabiner. Grabiner keeps his explanations short and concise, while Kralik tends to ramble on.

On Friday I encounter Raven in the halls. "To be, or not to be, that is the question…", she murmurs while passing me. She seems a bit down.  
Is she just acting or really sad? "You alright?", I ask her. "What? What is it? What do you want?" Whoa, calm down Raven. "I just wanted to know, whether you're really sad or just good at acting.", I answer her honestly. "I am rehearsing. Surely you are familiar with the works of The Bard?" Which bard?  
"Nope, sorry. Doesn't ring a bell." "It's fine. We all have our individual talents and challenges." To use challenges instead of weaknesses… I prefer this phrasing.  
"So for what play are you rehearsing?", I ask her out of curiosity. "The play is in the spring. The auditions are on Monday.", Raven answers.  
Not giving me any information about the play itself, huh. "We are performing a musical. The small place of purchase of frightening things."  
Oh, ok nevermind my comment from before. "Do you intend to try it out?" I'm not as bored as I was at the beginning of attending Iris Academy anymore, and I have stage fright, so I definitely won't. "Sorry, no." Raven smiles at me, despite my refusal. "Then, if you'll excuse me, I should be going." Something about Raven is so mysterious, I love it. But apart from that… this felt strangely familiar. Was this a game event? Must've been one of those I don't remember anymore.  
I also forgot most of Ellen's and Virginia's route. While I continued to wander the halls, I notice Damien talking with a girl from Butterfly Hall.  
Has he finally lost interest in me? I take a look at the girl from a safe distance. It's Myreen Dumont. She wasn't featured in the game, but she is a b***h, Angela-style. Though Angela is worse. I really don't like her, and neither does she like me.  
Well, given Damien's selfishness, I prefer him dating someone I can't stand.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Love talk, marriage talk

* * *

Seeing Damien with someone else lifts my spirits, so I'm in a moderately good mood, as I head towards the post office the next morning. Well, not good enough to hum some song as usual though. Which is a good thing, because Grabiner suddenly comes in. "Good morning, Sir.", I greet him calmly, without glancing at him.  
"I see little, that is good about it." I sigh. You're not passed on the floor with a Manus hovering over you, this is definitely an improvement to last week, I think,  
but keep myself from saying it out loud. Nothing good will come out of adding salt to his wounds. I don't want to wake up the dragon.  
"You may or may not be aware, that there will be two holydays celebrated later this month: Valentine's day and the Winter renewal. Each set of class officers is expected to sell valentines to the members of that class." I calmly wait for him to continue. I have stopped working for now, to pay my full attention to him.  
"In this case the act of purchase is of ritual significance. As class treasurer, it falls to you to decide the cost of your valentines. Professor Potsdam will purchase supplies in keeping with your costs; any excess of funds will be donated to the winter ceremony." Without needing to think about it, I answer him, "I suppose 5$ would be a good price, that's enough for some chocolate or something. It shouldn't be too expensive, this way more people can afford them. Apart from that, can't we sell some flowers as well? We should be able to grow them using green magic, right? I'd like an alternative for the ones, who don't like candy. Only, if it doesn't prove to take too much effort, of course." "Very well… I will talk with Professor Potsdam about your proposal." And with that, he turns to leave.  
"Ah, just a moment, please?", I hold him back. He grunts but turns back to me. "What is it now?" "I'd like to ask you few questions about our…. Arrangement."  
He frowns. Reminding him about our marriage must be like slapping his face for him. "There is nothing to discuss.", he growls. Isn't he acting a bit childish?  
"May I remind you, that I'm an ignorant wild seed? I don't know about the responsibilities of a magical wife." Well, I know a bit, due to the game knowledge, but my memories about this part are blurry. "You are supposed to be a student. You are supposed to be learning. Not trying to get yourself killed and forcing others to waste resources rescuing you." So your bachelor-status was a resource? "How many times do you expect to be saved?" Well, this was the first time you had to save me though? "I'm sorry for my ignorance, sir. I'm trying to better myself, for example by finding out how to not accidently break my oath. I'm not interested in annoying you, Sir, I simply try to avoid trouble.", I reply calmly. He takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out, probably to calm himself down.  
Talking to me seems to be really exhausting for him. "I suppose that is a reasonable request.", he admits reluctantly. "A witch-wife retains her independence. You are not required to be subservient. You are expected to show me respect, which should you already, as a student of this academy. Most magical couples keep separate living quarters, so there is no need for you to visit mine. Should I depart from this life, you're required to help dispose of my effects. I have no intention of placing you in that circumstance. Therefore, by our agreement, we can place the matter behind us and go about our business. There is no need to refer to this 'marriage' until it comes time to dissolve it." I see. Not much new information though, unfortunately. "And what are your responsibilities, Sir?", I ask out of curiosity.  
Will he even answer me that question, though? "Can you still call me Miss Ojousama?" He has avoided addressing me lately. No one else noticed yet.  
"No, I cannot. You are a member of my family, and I must acknowledge that. Therefore I prefer to not address you at all. " I nod. "I see."  
I was wondering why he avoided addressing me. "My responsibilities are to protect and support you to the best of my ability. I doubt you will notice any difference." But doesn't that mean, that I have to act kind towards him? Why didn't he tell me that? It is so difficult to get him to talk, how annoying.  
"I see. Thank you for your explanation, sir.", I surrender. Getting him to talk is really exhausting. He mumbles something and then disappears. Is he afraid of me or something? I continue with my work. After that I eat breakfast and study a bit. The rest of the day I spent playing the clarinet and painting.  
I'm better at drawing, but painting is also fun.

The Sunday I spent mostly in the library and Minnie approaches me. "Hi, Elise. Did you make arrangements for the valentines?" "I took care of it, but we don't have them yet. I don't know when we'll get them." "We should get them next week. Next Monday, I think, we'll be doing the sales."  
So we'll sell them, before we get them? Well, it's February the 2nd today, so we still have nearly two weeks, before we have to deliver them. "Alright", I answer.  
With that, everything is discussed, but Minnie stays and fidgets around. Right, she still wants to consult me on something, right? It was something about Kyo,  
but I don't remember what it was. "Elise, can I ask you something?", she finally blurts out. "Of course, go ahead.", I encourage her to speak.  
"How are things with you and Professor Grabiner?" I'm wrong? It was not about Kyo? "Eh, he isn't throwing stuff at me, or something like that, so I guess they're fine?" "Does he expect you to obey him now?" The heck she's talking about? "You mean like, more than he expects from normal students? He desperately tries to ignore our situation, you know? Furthermore, he said, that I wouldn't need to do so. Also, this is not the place to talk about such things.", I reprimand her.  
She will probably spill the beans about our marriage anyways though. "Well, it isn't officially, but … some people have other ideas." Like Kyo? So I was right with my prediction. "Is someone trying to oppress you?", I directly ask her. Tiptoeing around the topic won't do any good. "I… There was this guy. And he seemed sweet, so when he asked me out I said yes and it was nice. But things sort of got too intense. He wanted my attention all the time. And between schoolwork and the student council and him… I had nothing left. I felt like I'd barely spoken to anyone in months. I didn't know who I could turn to."  
I told you to avoid letting one person become your whole world, didn't I? Though I understand, that these advices are often useless. First love is simply too overwhelming, people simply can't deal with their feelings. "So I told him I needed space. It wasn't easy for me! I told him it wasn't his fault, it was mine… I just needed time to myself."  
Being too soft isn't good when dealing with love, it often has the opposite effect of what you wished to achieve. Instead of easing things up, you give false hope, or simply fail to communicate your problems. Like in Minnie's case, she failed to communicate, that Kyo was behaving too clingy. It isn't about whose fault it is anyways! Then people simply don't fit, then it's no one's fault. Minnie should have expressed herself more clearly and Kyo… well Kyo should try acknowledge his faults and work on them, instead of blaming his love interest for not loving him as much as he loves her.  
"Please continue.", I encourage her further. "Well… he decided to make this big-to-do proclamation of affection, thing… He begged me to forgive him and take him back, in front of everyone. They all thought it was very romantic. I was so tired and everyone was watching us – I didn't know how to turn him down. I don't know what to do." See, this is why puberty is such a hell. Insecurities. She shouldn't have minded the opinion of others. Not when it comes to something like that.  
Well, it is easier to talk about that, than to act like that. "So you're back together with him.", I conclude with a neutral voice. "Yes.", Minnie whispers.  
"And now he's back to expecting me to be- to be like the perfect girlfriend, to go everywhere with him and do everything he wants." I sigh. "You should express yourself more clearly." "You don't understand. He- I feel guilty." I touch her shoulders to comfort her. "I do understand, but it is not your fault, that you don't feel the same way as him. You should cherish yourself more. He doesn't treat you right, by trying to dominate you that much. You also don't owe him any feelings, just because he has feelings for you. Continuing to let him cling to you, is cruel to both of you. He'll subconsciously notices, that you don't feel the same way, making him cling even more. And you'll start to blame yourself more and more for not feeling the same way he does. If you break up with him, he will be at least able to move on eventually.", I calmly explain to her. "But he'll be angry." "Yeah, for now. But that is his own fault as much as it yours." "Mmmh. I should go. I've got so much to do."  
And with that she disappears. Just take a break already! If you wouldn't be so overworked, you wouldn't spill the beans about my marriage.

At the end of the next week another exam will await us. On Thursday Ellen and I find Virginia lying in her bed, with flushed cheeks and I immediately run to find Professor Potsdam. I'm worried a bit about her, even though I know, that she'll be alright.  
The next day is the exam, and Virginia isn't back, as expected. I grab the door handle and get teleported into the dungeon.  
After casting Awareness, I find, that this dungeon is a simple cross, like in the game. But to be honest, my memory starts to blur more and more lately.  
What was special about this dungeon again? After walking around, I find the chest. Oh right. I use black magic to carefully examine it for charms.  
The chest is enchanted, as expected. I imprint the picture of the chest in my head and use black magic to form a small wall in front of me, to protect myself from the explosion, should I fail in dispelling the enchantment. Then I use a complex dual spell composed of blue magic and black magic, with the blue magic I create an image of the chest with its enchantment, and with black magic I'm dissolving the enchantment. Dissolving enchantments is a bit like solving puzzles, and I can't do that, if I can't see the enchantment. As to the image I create, rather than a normal illusion, it's more like watching TV, a transmission of a picture. Transmitting a picture is easier, than creating one without nothing, otherwise we wouldn't learn about Farspeak so early, since it uses the same concept, but with sound. I need some time, but I manage to open the chest, without incident. This felt a bit like defusing a bomb… Well, failing in dissolving the enchantment could've resulted in an explosion after all, so I guess this comparison is quite fitting. I walk around the wall and open the chest. I take the key and head back to the crosswalk.  
Suddenly the image of an Manus appears in front of me. I take a closer look. It must be a 3D-illusion, as expected. I cast Truesight with all my energy left on it, since the enchantment on the chest was difficult to dissolve, I haven't much energy left. Additionally, I expect this illusion to be a good one, so I won't be able to dissolve it with half-hearted effort. The illusion sizzles and then disappears, and I head towards the door, to leave the dungeon.  
I wanted to playfully command the Manus-illusion to disappear, in the name of a Grabiner, but I don't know which teacher observes my exam, and I don't think the other teachers know about our marriage. In Addition, if Grabiner is the one overseeing my exam, it might anger him, if I use his name carelessly.

I receive ten merits from Potsdam for acing my exam. And with this, I have maxed out my merits. I wonder how well I would do in those exams, if I wouldn't know a bit about them already? This thought upsets me a bit. "Congratulation, Elise!", Potsdam cheerfully greets me, like always. "For succeeding in your quest, you receive five merits. And another five merits for managing to see through our little trick." I sigh. "May I say something, Headmistress?"  
Potsdam smiles at me and chirps, "What is it, Dear?" "Your trick… it was tasteless." Using the illusion of a Manus in an exam, after one of her students nearly got eaten by one… She just wanted to see my frightened face, didn't she? Well, too bad I'm usually good at staying composed.  
"You sound just like Hieronymus!", Potsdam laughs. This woman…  
"It's said, that opposites attract each other… Maybe that's why a relationship between us would never work?", I counter. But Potsdam just smiles at me.  
"Don't worry, my little tulip. You're not THAT similar." There simply is no winning against this woman. I surrender… for now.  
You may have won a battle, but you haven't won the war! "I hope you enjoyed putting your skills into action. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have another student to look after…", Potsdam continues unfazed. "Oh, wait, what about Virginia?", I question her. "She'll be all right. She should be back with you tomorrow."  
Of course, that's all she tells me. Why did I bother asking? Well, I don't feel the need to break the game flow anymore, besides, I'm really worried about her.  
Soon after Ellen and I returned to our room, William knocks on door to inform us about Virginias illness.  
As I head to the conference room the next morning, I run into Virginia in the halls. Looks like she is already on her way back to our room.  
"Good morning Virginia. Do you feel better?", I greet her. "Eh. I'd be fine, except… I missed the exam yesterday, so now I have to do detention!"  
The heck, that's so unfair. "Sounds awful. Well, I have to go. My treasurer duties wait to bore me. See you later!" We bid goodbye and I continue on my way.  
Since things seem to have returned to normality, I'm in a good mood again and hum a kpop-song.  
The rest of the weekend, nothing notable happened, except that I saw Damien heading to a date with Myreen.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Admirer? More like stalker!

* * *

On Monday morning Minnie knocks on my door rapidly, to remind me about our valentine sales this afternoon. She seems stressed out due to the fact, that she forgot to remind me yesterday. I try to comfort her a bit, before she runs along. She should really learn how to ease up a bit, otherwise she will collapse one day due to burn out. In the afternoon we attend to the booth in order to accept the valentine orders. Apart from chocolates for 5$, you can also order Roses for 3$.  
Looks like Potsdam liked my idea. Both sell really well. Jacob provides us with extra help, which we desperately need, since we have so many customers.  
As expected, Kyo appears at my table and orders valentines for Minnie for 100$. "For Minnie." I sigh. "Don't you think, you're overdoing things a bit?", I ask him dryly. He just glares at me. Rude. But hey, I like being successful in raising money, even if I don't get to spend the money for myself. I guess, that's another reason, why I became class treasurer. After signing his order, he slaps the pen down and stomps away. Wow, SOMEONE needs to sign up for anger therapy…  
I also order a funny Valentine for Virginia, another funny one for Donald and a friendly one for Ellen. The German part of me, isn't used to sending valentines, but since it gets celebrated to this extent at this academy, I want to use the opportunity to treat my friends.

On Thursday Potsdam talks to us about the 'romancing rules' of this academy. I don't bother to listen, since I still remember them.  
On Friday morning the valentines get delivered. I didn't expect to receive any, since I'm married to Grabiner, but to my surprise I get a rose and some chocolate.  
I still prefer tulips over roses, but I'm happy to receive it anyways. And naturally I'm also happy to receive the chocolate, I like sweets after all. But I wonder, who sent them? Only Damien comes to mind, but he moved o… they're from Damien! The heck? He's dating Myreen, isn't he? Filled with rage, I walk through the halls, looking for him. Hopefully I find him, before class begins. I spot him a moment later. "Damien! We need to talk." I drag him towards a deserted corner.  
"Why the hell did you send me valentine, Damien?", I begin to scold him. But he just smiles at me. Hey, be more intimidated by me! Please? "Why, does your husband have a problem with that? What was his name again?", he simply teases me. I calm myself down. I will fall in one of his traps, if I'm not composed.  
"Husband? You know for some reason, that I'm married, but I don't remember saying, that I had a husband?", I counter. "So it's a woman?", Damien probes further. "Not telling.", I coldly reply. "Stop evading the topic, why did you send me a valentine? You're dating Myreen, aren't you?", I accuse him, regaining my wrath.  
Somehow my accusation seems to make him happy? Damien leans towards me and whispers in my ear, "Jealous?" My body stiffens. "Oh hell no." Damien chuckles. "Then, what is the big deal about me sending you a valentine?" I take a deep breath. His flirtatious attitude is starting to drive me crazy.  
"I'm a married woman. You know that! You said you would give up on me…", I complain. "Ah, I said I would wait for your divorce, before I ask you out again. I never said anything about giving up." I'm speechless. Damien chuckles again at my shocked expression. "Don't worry, until that time comes, I will entertain myself with other toys. And I'll only choose toys you don't like." So he really went with Myreen out of consideration for me? That is so weird! "… the valentine?", I ask, greatly weakened in my resolve to scold him. "I'm still allowed to court you, you know? Well, I have classes now. I hope you enjoyed your Valentine." And with that, he bids me goodbye. I stand frozen for a moment, before I snap out of it and also head towards class.  
A blue magic class by Grabiner, since he should act normal towards me again. Indeed he didn't bully me like last week, but I felt him glance at me from time to time.  
Is he surprised, that I don't avoid him anymore? Anyways, something about Damien is bothering me. Well, I don't have time to dwell on it, since I have classes.

I go to lunch after red magic class with Ellen and Virginia, but I'm too distracted to pay attention them much attention. "Hey, have you heard? Suki sent Manuel a weird valentine and now he is too shy to talk to her. When a friend of his asked her for him why she did that, she said, that the spirits would have told her to do so. I don't know about you guys, but I'm totally shipping the two of them.", Virginia gossips. Geez, she is always listening in on rumors and telling us about them.  
Wait. Rumors. Virginia telling us…. Damien! Damien is dating again, does that mean, he hasn't given up on acquiring a witch soul?  
But I doubt that Myreen is a suitable victim, she is so bitchy. Though that's good right? I don't like her, but I don't want her to DIE. I should warn her about Damien.

After all my classes have finished, I roam around the halls looking for Myreen. I finally spot her hanging out with her Butterfly-roommate. "Hi, Myreen. I, uhm… would like to talk to you about something. Is that ok?", I approach her. Gosh, I hate having to talk to her. But though I may not qualify as the heroine-type, I'm not cruel enough to let her soul get eaten without trying to save her. She looks at me, as if she would have just spotted something disgusting. "Please do so fast, I don't want to spend more time than necessary with you." See, what I'm talking about? She behaved mildly hostile towards me right from the beginning.  
"Right… let's go somewhere, there we're alone.", I reply, already annoyed. Myreen reluctantly agrees to my request. "So what did you want to talk about?", she inquires irritated. "I saw you hang out with Damien a lot lately…", I begin, but she interrupts you. "That is none of your business." She then gives me a smirk.  
"You shouldn't act so jealous, you had your chance with him." I'm not jealous! I'm trying to help you! "Look, Damien is dangerous, you know?", I start again, but she just rolls her eyes at me. "You don't know him. You didn't care to get to know him. Now, if you would excuse me, I'm tired of this farce." And with that she proudly stomps away. You wouldn't let me hear me out, huh? I should have expected that much. Oh well… at least I tried. Damien shouldn't be able to succeed with his operation anyways.

After fulfilling my duties as class treasurer on Saturday, I find Ellen and Virginia already awake. "Good morning. …. It smells like smoke.", I greet them. Bonfire? "Bonfire.", Virginia confirms my thoughts. I look at the calendar. February the 15th. "What bonfire?", Ellen asks. "For the New Year's Ceremony tomorrow night.  
They use the ashes." Ellen tries to get a look at the fire by looking out of the window. I join her. We see a pile of branches and sticks burning in bright colors.  
Minnie and Jacob stand next to the flames. Why didn't Minnie ask me to help? Isn't this another one of my duties as class treasurer?  
She might wanted to spend some alone-time with Jacob though. Looks like their romance already started. The rest of the weekend I spent mostly in the gym.  
I still feel a bit weakened due to the attack of the Manus, but I'm getting back on track again. I can still be considered athletic, so I guess it really wasn't that bad?  
I wouldn't recommend the experience though.  
In the evening we get summoned by hooded figures to attend the New Year's ceremony. It's already February, isn't that a bit late for such a ceremony?  
But then again, the magical world might follow another, older calendar. We sit in groups on the ground, sorted by our Halls. It's cold… I'm a bit afraid of getting sick.  
I glance at Virginia. Actually, I'm more worried about her, she has a weak immune system after all. The seniors line up to stir in the ashes with a wooden stick, still sorted by hall. What exactly are they doing there? These rituals are so weird. "The old year has died. The past is gone, and will not come again. Let us leave behind our sorrows in the ashes of the past.", Potsdam recites melodramatically. What would the consequences be, if we wouldn't hold this ritual? Would our past start haunting us, or something? "As these ashes become soil, so may our hearts become grounds for the future." And with that, the seniors sit down again, and Minnie and Jacob place new wood on the ashes. "Let the new year be born!", Potsdam exclaims with her usual cheerful tone of voice.  
With that, the new pile also begins to burn. It's pretty. And with the bonfire burning, it's a bit less cold now. "We need an omen for the new year. If anyone here has experiencing a reoccurring dream and would like to share it with us…" I look towards Suki. I really would like to hear about her dream, but Barbara won't let her.  
It's probably better this way, since the dream of an impending disaster or something similar as an omen would ruin the mood. Angela stands up and tells us about her dream of a pink cake in a field of cows, and how she runs away with it, but it's made out of sand. So… the cake is a lie?  
"Meditate on this dream and what meaning it might have for your lives in the new year.", Potsdam requests of us.  
So… you can't save the cake (a treat? Something nice?) from the cows (us students? The masses? Meat?), since the cake isn't a real treat? (It's not as desirable as it seems?). "And may the seeds of the past bear fruits in you all." I though this ceremony was about leaving the past behind?  
Well, there is a difference between dwelling on the past and simply not forgetting it. After Potsdam finishes with her speech, we stand up and dance a bit in the light of the fire. I dance more reserved, since it's not as dark as at the Dark Dance. It's kind of fun, nonetheless, though we still only have drums playing music.  
What about other instruments? Are they not fitted for magical rituals? I'm quite tired, as we finally head back to our rooms and fall asleep immediately.

On Monday I encounter Damien in the halls. "Elise! We need to talk." He sounds strict. Is he angry? Is.. is that good? He drags me to a deserted corner.  
Seriously, these halls are built so contorted, that it's easy to hide here. As soon as we're alone, his expression soothes. The heck?  
"So… you WERE jealous of me dating Myreen.", he declares with a smile. The heck?! "Wha… no! Why do you think that?", I ask him perplexed. "She told me about you trying to drive her off. Well, I can dump her soon, if that makes you happy, but it's not fair, you know? You're married to Grabby, but I'm not allowed to spend some time with Myreen?", he teases me. "I.. what… how the hell do you know, that I'm married to Grabiner?", I ask him in shock.  
There shouldn't have been any way for him to find out?! My reaction wipes his flirtatious smile of his face, and he looks at me with a pensive expression.  
"So… I was correct? Grabiner is your husband?", he inquires. Suddenly realization dawns on me. He was just playing with me. And I lost.  
"You were just guessing.", I remark disenchanted. "Well, I had a hunch it was him. You avoided him the week after your marriage. And he was suddenly married.  
I never paid him much attention, but he was a bachelor not too long ago. I wanted confirmation however." Is he a spy or something? Was he stalking me? How did he notice that? "What are you going to do, now that you've got your confirmation?", I question him dejectedly. "And also, why are you able to see, whether a person is married or not?" "For now? Nothing. I told you, I won't disclose your secret. … though I haven't promised it.", he adds teasingly, totally ignoring my other question. "But I'm glad it's Grabiner. He is so grumpy, there is no way you would fall for him." He seems pleased with himself.  
But he is wrong with one thing, it's possible, that I would fall for him. You get used to his grouchiness and he isn't a bad person. Plus, he's handsome on my opinion. However, building a relationship with him would take a lot of time – if it is even possible, to build a TRUE relationship with him – and I'm not interested in trying to do so. This is why I'm careful to avoid falling for him. If I wouldn't mind that, things might be different. I sigh and rub my temples.  
I decide, that it's better, that Damien doesn't know about my feelings of attraction towards Grabiner. "You should just forget me, Damien. I have no intention of falling in love with you, and you can't force feelings. Please just look for someone, who is not just able to accept you, but also returns your feelings.", I advise him.  
"Are worrying about me? There is no need." "I don't…", I sigh. "Goodbye Damien. I have classes now."


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Soup and pancakes

* * *

The rest of the week nothing notable occurs, except that Kyo seems to be sulking during club activities. I don't bother to talk to him, since I know what he's sulking about. Oh, and Grabiner seems to be a bit stressed out about something. I don't bother him, although I'm his wife –this sounds so strange -, it's not like he would want do confide in me. I visited the gym a lot in the afternoon, since I still want to strengthen my body a bit. The weekend I studied with Ellen in the library.  
I also drew another portrait of her – this time it was a lot better – but decided against showing it to her again. However, I've gotten quite good at drawing.  
You have so much more time to hone your skills without the internet… But I still miss the internet sometimes, though it's not as often anymore. I gotten used to this lifestyle.

On Monday I attend another assembly, this time for the introduction into the honor society, or whatever. I don't remember much about this event, but don't bother to listen much anyways, since it's a boring event. Angela gets special honor for proposing a new theory behind this Icarus-Effect or whatever, like in the game.  
Well, given her personality, she better be smart. Potsdam ends the event with a speech about our dreams, and how we shouldn't destroy others.  
It's a bit ironic to talk about that, after honoring one of the meanest students, someone who managed to abuse her partner so much, that he (William) may have turned gay. Even Damien didn't manage to do that. At least I didn't hear about William swearing off guys, but him dating Damien probably was a secret anyways.

On Tuesday I arrive at one of Grabiner's classrooms, but the sentence 'Free Period' is written on the blackboard. I take a look at the calendar. February, the 25th.  
He's actually sick, isn't he? There was this event in the game, I think. But I'm unsure… My memories of my past life start to blur more and more…  
I step out of the classroom, deliberating about which classes to take instead, as I run into Professor Potsdam. "Oh, Elise? Might I borrow you for a bit?"  
This is about taking care of Grabiner or something, isn't it? "Sure, what's the matter?", I reply politely. "I'm afraid dear Hieronymus is a bit under the weather."  
She doesn't sound afraid, or even slightly worried. She sounds happy. What is wrong with her? "And I'm sure you can imagine what a terrible patient he makes."  
That, I can indeed. "Could I trouble you to carry up some soup from the kitchens to his room? It has to be done by hand, or it might spill."  
So simply teleporting it, is a no-go, huh. Potsdam looks at me, enthusiastically. I really don't want to know, what is going on in her head. But I agree to her quest,  
I should be able to do that much for my dear 'husband'. Potsdam is of course overjoyed about my agreement, and immediately starts to give me tons of instructions, on how to properly serve a sick Grabby some soup. The most dangerous part about my mission is, of course, entering the lion's den, aka his rooms.

Soon I'm carefully balancing a tablet with soup through the stairs. Unfortunately I come across Damien. "What are you doing, Elise?", he asks me curiously.  
"Feeding the grumpy tiger.", I answer dryly. "Sorry, I have to go, otherwise the soup might get cold." Damien gives me strange look, but let's me continue on my mission without another word. Finally I arrive in front of his rooms. I place the tabled down on a small side table next to his door and use the lion doorknocker to knock on the door. The lion's den, indeed. The lion opens his eyes. "What is your issue for coming here?" The voice sounds like Grabiner.  
Is this an illusion enchantment, or some kind of Farspeak? "Soup delivery.", I answer concisely. The door opens and I take the tablet to step inside.  
His living quarters are surprisingly nice and spacey. The interior is mostly held in creamy white and looks expensive. He has an armchair and a couch with a small table in front (buried under books), and some bookshelves next to it (filled with even more books, obviously), a desk (buried under books), and a big bed (without books), with nightstands next to it (buried under books).  
"You! What are you doing here?", Grabiner grunts at me. His voice lacks its usual bite, he must really be sick. Apart from that, so it was an illusion enchantment, huh. He doesn't wear his hat and is dressed unusually leger, in casual fitting robes. "I'm here on Professor Potsdam's request, Sir. To bring you your soup."  
This seems to calm him down a bit. Not wondering, why she had to send me? Well, he didn't see her enthusiasm about this...  
"Very well." I look around the room. No dining table, just the desk filled with books and other documents. I won't place the tablet on the papers without his explicit permission. "Where shall I place the tablet, Sir?" "That desk. Over there." "But the documents..", I mumble to myself, while I head to the desk he points at and place it down, careful not to spill anything. He just raises an eyebrow at me. Keep your room more tidy! You're an adult, you should've already learned how to put your books away. If Ellen were to visit your quarters, she would probably faint! Well, books, documents and some stuff needed for rituals are the only things lying around at last. He crosses the room and sinks into the desk chair with a sigh. He looks so tired. A strand of hair clings to his face. Does he have a fever?  
"Is there something else I can do for you, Sir?", I ask out of worry. He glances at me, as he notices the worry in my voice. I look away.  
It's just natural to worry about you, Sir! "You can leave me in peace.", he answers dryly. "Alright. Get well, Sir.", I calmly reply and turn around to leave.  
I'm partly used to his grumpiness already and therefore didn't mind his comment. "… Wait." I stop in my steps and turn back to him surprised. Though, this is still part of the game flow, isn't it? My memories are so blurry. "I appreciate what you have done for me. However, I would prefer that it were not necessary."  
Funny, I think the same about our marriage. "I am not accustomed to having students in my rooms. I prefer my privacy." Yeah, I noticed that.  
"Of course, which is why you should get well soon. So that you can trouble your students in the classrooms instead.", I tease him with a small smile.  
Have I always been that bold? "I will be fine. Now go." He doesn't seem to be angry at me for teasing him. He's surprisingly well-behaved when sick.  
I bid him goodbye and leave. I use my free time to study a bit, before I head to my next class. I'm a bit distracted the rest of the day. Am I worried about him?  
He should be well again tomorrow, shouldn't he? So nothing to worry about.

The next day is Grabiner back, and I relax a bit. He seems to be healthy again, probably due to some green magic. As I head to lunch break, Potsdam approaches me. "And?" She inquires. I'm confused. "And what?", I reply. "Did you enjoy nursing… him?" No one is around, who could overhear our conversation, but I'm thankful, that she didn't say 'husband' nonetheless. "Uhm… he wasn't as grumpy, as I thought he would be?" Potsdam smiles at me and waits for me to continue. Wait a minute… "Professor Potsdam, did you do something?", I ask her accusingly. "Oh my, you really are such a clever girl. Well, he was a bit overworked, so I helped him a little with getting some rest. This man really doesn't know how to relax." Speechless! I'm speechless! This woman can't be trusted.  
To think I was worried about him due to her little prank! "I can't believe you did that.", I honestly respond to her. "Were you worried?", she teases me.  
I glare at her and simply turn around to walk away. I can't deal with this woman, she is simply too much. I can hear her chuckling behind me. Damn you, Potsdam!

Thursday and Friday I focused on blue and black magic. A bit more on blue than on black. On Saturday I look for Minnie for a student council discussion, but I walk in on her talking to Jacob. " –then that just proves you were right, doesn't it? If he really cared about you, he'd never think like that." "But he did care!" "He'll get over it. There are plenty of girls." Jacob finally notices me and gives me a small bow. "Like Elise here."  
This is about Kyo, right? "Oh hell no, I wouldn't date Kyo, since I know enough about how he treats Minnie. And no Minnie, he doesn't care about you. He is obsessed with you. He cares about the person he'd like you to be, but he doesn't care about the reality-you." They both stare at me in shock.  
What, was what I said so wrong? I clear my throat. "Anyways, you wanted to talk with me, Minnie?" Minnie snaps out of it. "Yes – Jacob, you should go. We need to talk about the maple ceremony." Jacob leaves with a "see you later". They're already dating, aren't they? This is about me not being able to attend due to my marriage, right? Pity, I like pancakes. I wait for Minnie to begin, but she's distracted from the earlier conversation.  
"Is everything alright with you, Minnie?", I ask her politely. "Everything's fine." She doesn't want me to pry. I can understand that, but it saddens me, that she doesn't confide in me. Though we aren't that close, so I should have expected that. Minnie takes a deep breath to compose herself and fluffs out her hair.  
I'm happy, that I went with the rather short ponytail, having hair as long as Minnie's must be a pain in the *ss. Though my hair grew quite a bit, since coming here... "Next week we'll be celebrating the maple sap harvest.", she starts informing me, with her usual poker-face-everything-is-alright-smile.  
I nod at her, to let her continue. "We hold a pancake supper with a lot of syrup." "Sounds delicious…", I sadly comment. "There's just one problem. You can't attend."  
I sigh. "Why me?!", I complain about my fate. Minnie looks frantically around and then drags me into an empty classroom.  
"Sorry, I had to be sure no one was listening. The dinner is a ritual. The students are split up into groups. The boys serve the girls and the girls serve the boys.  
It's symbolic. I think, a long time ago, that was the beginning of the traditional season of – courting, or something like that. Even though that's obviously not how romance works in modern times. But the thing is, you're not allowed to sit with the girls, because you're married. It's ritually improper."  
What if the amount of girls doesn't equal the amount of boys? Are there some poor souls being left without pancakes, like the pitiful me? Do some simply deliver more than one plate? Are guest invited to even the numbers? Well, I won't find out, since I'm not allowed to attend. I sigh. Pancakes…  
"And we can't tell anyone why you're not there either. So you'll have to come up with some excuse. Sorry."  
"There is nothing you need to apologize about, Minnie. Thanks for the info. If there is nothing else, you want to talk about….? Then I would take my leave."  
Minnie just smiles at me and I bid her goodbye. I shouldn't be too meddlesome.

On Tuesday, March the 4th, is the maple ceremony. I ditch my last two classes and make myself sick with the help of green magic instead. That helps me with my acting towards Ellen and Virginia, since I'm not good at outright lying. Besides, this way they can convince themselves about my disease.  
Good thing my green magic is so good. After they finally headed to the ceremony and I'm sure, that they won't come back for having forgotten something, or something like that, I heal myself with my green magic.  
Now, what to do in the meantime? Was there some kind of event supposed to happen, while I miss the maple ceremony? I try to remember, but… this part of my memory seems to be blurred as well. To fight my boredom, I decided to paint another illusion on my ceiling, but… I lack inspiration. I sigh. What now? I'm bored…  
I head to the library, maybe I can find something interesting to 'paint' there. I randomly grab some magazines and flip through the pages.  
It's a teen magazine about prom dresses and stuff. Speaking of which, is still need to buy a dress. I need to go shopping with my mom in the next holydays.  
Though probably no one will want to dance with me, the teacher's wife. Minnie will have spilled the beans, after all. Would I even be able to enjoy the Dance, since the player doesn't? I grab another magazine. This time it's an cooking magazine. Sigh. "Pancakes…"  
Suddenly I hear a book being dropped in the return slot. Someone else is here? I look up. Oh it's just Grabiner. Is this a game event?  
"Good evening, Sir." I doubt Grabiner ever attended a courting ceremony, so no one would be suspicious of his absence, right? So he doesn't need to worry about someone finding him. He just mumbles something as a response. Not even a 'Hi' ? How rude. "What kind of book are you returning?", I ask out of curiosity.  
"It is an interlibrary loan." I wasn't asking about that? "Arhitektura Slovenskega Kozolca." I see, something about some kind of architecture.  
"A particular form of handcrafted architecture, of which you have heard nothing.", he adds with an arrogant smile. Dismissive as always.  
"You're right, I haven't. Have you heard of deconstructivism?", I counter. He looks at me strangely. "No, I haven't." Thought so. Too modern, huh.  
"Well, I doubt it would fit your tastes, Sir, but you should check it out nonetheless, if you're interested in architecture. Also, I'm sorry for my ignorance regarding your slightly unusual interests." I'm a bit tired of his 'you know nothing, Jon Snow'-attitude. Grabiner makes a defeated sigh. This round goes to me, huh.  
"You have nothing to apologize about. No one would expect you to know about such things at your age, not even at mine, and my expectations are no exception. Good night to you." He bids goodbye and leaves. That was a strange answer. Game-fate-thingy?  
How strange indeed, he was unusually polite to me as well. I can't tell whether he was trying to make fun of my intellect or not. I stayed a bit, scanning the magazines, and then decide to head back with a travel magazine. I'm going to use it as reverence for creating landscape-illusions. I will use my wall instead of my ceiling this time. I head early to bed, to avoid meeting Ellen and Virginia after the maple ceremony. I don't want to pretend being sick again. Since it's so early, I use some white and green magic to help me sleep. I ought to improve my white magic, I think while falling asleep. A way to contact a professor close by, could become important after all, though I don't plan to put myself in danger.

The next morning I wake up feeling refreshed and I tell Virginia and Ellen, that I would be cured due to the rest I received. I also asked about how the maple ceremony went for them and from who they received their pancakes and to whom they gave theirs. Ellen exchanged her pancakes with Donald.  
Does she know what that means? Virginia doesn't seem to notice the meaning though. Virginia received her pancakes from Balthasar, to her displeasure and gave hers to some random student, she can't remember. I complain a bit to them, about how I also would've liked to receive some pancakes, no matter from whom.  
The rest of the week I distracted myself from thinking about my 'marriage'. Since my drawing skills have increased, I tried drawing more portraits, trying to picture the people in my head, instead of persuading someone to be my model. I'm especially interested in drawing movements, but the proportions are hard to imagine, so I have to use sport magazines as references for that.  
On Thursday I wake up in the middle of the night. This happens way too often. Virginia mumbles something in her sleep. Not this again. What is she dreaming about this time? "No, don't eat the cake, Elise… it will explode." Another dream about the cake being a lie? I consider silencing her for a second, but decide against it.  
She probably wouldn't appreciate being enchanted in her sleep. "Noo…. Pudding boss has tentacles!" I grab my pillow and try to muffle my ears with it.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23: The questionable morale of wizards

* * *

On Saturday I notice a letter addressed to me, while sorting the mail. Or rather, addressed to 'Mrs. Grabiner'. Next to the letter is a small packet, cramped into the same envelope. I remember this, it's another game event. I don't recall the letter word for word, but I still know the gist of it. And I remember, that I shouldn't open the box under any circumstances. With a sigh I open the letter to read it.  
Congratulations on your marriage… blablabla..thanks for taming my son… I'm like my son, so my wife ran away in horror… blabla please get pregnant as soon as possible, everything else will be taken care of, because I want a heir aside from my grumpy son…blablabla, I have no idea how you are, so I simply assume, you're the daughter-in-law I wanted, and gift you a wedding present, which could possibly function as your grave, since I don't even know, that you're still a minor…  
Warmest regards, Grabby's noble father with loads of titles.  
Ok, maybe my summary wasn't the most correct one, but that's what I read between the lines. Or they're my assumptions and conclusions at least.  
I take a small look at my deadly wedding present, a key of some sorts to some Otherworld-estate. Though I'm not 100% sure, that my assumption is correct.  
I place my mail to Grabiner's mail and continue with my treasurer duties.

It doesn't take much time, until Grabiner arrives and I point out his mail for him. He frowns, as he notices, that I've opened the letter. "It was addressed to me,  
so naturally I read it. I couldn't simply burn my mail, just because I might not like, what I would read, right? However, I'm not inclined to accept presents from a man, who I don't know and who obviously doesn't know me, for a wedding that was in name only, so you might want to deal with that instead.", I calmly explain to him.  
"I see.", he responds, not minding my sarcastic remark about his hobby of incinerating his letters, and skims through the letter. Meanwhile I finish the mail.  
After he finished reading, he looks at me questioningly, with a raised eyebrow. What does he expect me to say?  
"What? It's not my business, how you deal with your relatives, I won't interfere. However, I have to deliver the mail now, so please excuse me." I pack the last batch of letters on the delivery cart and start pushing it towards the door. "Yes. That would be for the best. It would seem you would have learned some sense. Or at least, some restraint. I believe five merits would not be out of question.", he comments dryly. "As much as I would be honored to receive merits from the number one demerits-distributer of Iris Academy, I'm afraid my merits are already maxed out." I reply to him with a smile. Yes, I'm proud of having 50 merits.  
Call me nerd or whatever, I don't care. He looks at me surprised. What, you didn't expect me to have so many merits? You're the only teacher, who sees me as a troublemaker, you know? "Well, I have to be going. Good day to you, Sir." I bid him goodbye. I exit the office and Grabiner follows suit.  
"Good day.", he bids me farewell and heads of into another direction. Is he …starting to treat me like a human being? I'm not sure, whether I welcome this change or not. Whatever, I'm finally in a good mood again, and very quietly hum another kpop-song, careful not to disturb the sleeping students in doing so.

I wake up in the middle of the night again on Tuesday. Really, Virginia? I try to listen to another sleep mumbling of hers, but the room is silent. I wake up due to something else? Suddenly the door opens and Virginia slips inside. "Virginia?", I whisper. She shrieks at hearing my voice. "Oh. You're awake."  
Another event. This one I can remember quite well. "There's something going on out there.", Virginia whispers back. Virginia sucks at behaving quietly however, so Ellen also wakes up. "Mmuuh?" "I had to get up and pee, but when I was coming back, there was all these weird noises.", Virginia explains.  
We discuss a bit about it, but decide to head back to bed soon enough, since we're all sleepy.  
The next day Isobel informs us about the cancellation of classes today and I decide to use the time for studying.

In the afternoon, we head to just ANOTHER assembly in the gym and Potsdam informs us about the incident. After the assembly Virginia grabs my arm, to tell us about Donald being suspected, as expected. Even Virginia seems worried about Donald. "There is no way, that Donald is responsible for that. He'll be cleared of the wrong accusations soon.", I comfort Virginia. Since I already know, that his accusations will be cleared, I don't worry much. I think about confronting Grabiner, but I'm missing the passion for confronting him, as I already know, that everything will turn alright. I'd like to comfort Donald a bit, though.  
The next morning Donald knocks on our door, as expected, to tell us about him being released and Barbara's confession of practicing her ninja skills. I have a hunch, that Kyo has something to do with the incident, since the room targeted was Jacob's. I would totally rate him as capable of doing something like that.  
If he has no regard for the well-being of the person he 'loves', why should he care about the health of his love rival?  
But it's too early to accuse him, I have no evidence.

On Friday, I attend some blue magic classes from Grabiner. I'm really no fan of Professor Kralik, he likes to hear himself talking and his explanations are disorganized and incomplete. Another advantage of Grabiner's classes is the fact, that he is extremely unpopular among students. Usually only serious students attend his classes and the attendance all in all isn't high, meaning you don't have to wait long for him to answer your questions. A disadvantage is of course, that it's more difficult to avoid his focus. It's really no use attending his classes, if he's peeved at you.  
After classes I wander through the halls, unsure what to do with my time until the exam start. Suddenly someone grabs my arm, and pulls me into an abandoned corner. Not again. I sigh. "What do you want, Damien?" He gives me a seductive smile. "You of course." Lines like these make me want to throw up.  
"Apart from that… you've been going to a lot of classes of Grabiner.", he continues, looking at me pensively. "So?" I'm confused. What's his point?  
"Shouldn't you avoid him more?", Damien inquires. I tilt my head, still confused. "He cooled down, so I have no reason to?" Damien frowns. "But the incident isn't over." I'm thankful for him referring to it as 'incident'. "Everyone hates his classes, but you seem to enjoy them?", Damien probes further. It's not his business though?  
Why would it matter to him, which classes I attend anyway? "Why does it matter, which classes I attend? And why do you know that? Are you a stalker?"  
Calling him a spy would be too flattering for him. Damien responds to me, unaffected by my stalker-accusation, "Just answer me, why do you attend his classes?"  
The heck?! Am I his servant or something? Who does he think he is, ordering me around like that? We're not even in a relationship, and he already behaves like a jealous, overly-protective boyfriend. "Because he is a good Professor? Why else would I attend his classes? I don't know, what YOU do in your magic classes, but I use them for learning magic.", I sarcastically remark. "Really." Damien just continues giving me a pensive look. "Well, I have to go to my exam.", I dryly remind him.  
But Damien catches my arm, hindering me from leaving. "Wait. Just one more question. You don't actually like Grabby, right?" Where did that come from?  
Just because I still attend his lessons? "The heck's wrong with you…", I mumble, while I free myself and head towards my exam door.

I arrive a bit early, but I really didn't want to spend more time with my stalker. As I reach out for the door handle, a sudden realization dawns on me. I don't remember. I don't remember anything about the dungeon I'm about to enter. I don't remember anything about further dungeons as well. That's… odd.  
But this way, I'm not cheating anymore, right? Besides, I have my merits maxed out, so even if I were to fail, it wouldn't matter much. I hate failing though.  
With mixed feelings I touch the door handle and get teleported into the dungeon. After arriving in the dungeon, the instructions inform me, that I'll be competing against another person. So I have to finish as fast as possible, how troublesome.  
Keeping my calm, I cast Awareness to get an overview of the dungeon. To my surprise, it's not a labyrinth. Apart from the corridor I'm in, there is another corridor, joining paths with mine. And in the other corridor is a living being – my opponent. I teleport myself to the joint, to get ahead.  
It's important to be in the lead from the beginning, since you're the one preparing the traps then. I would've teleported further, but it wouldn't have been save, since my Awareness fades out too much. If my white magic would've been better, I could've teleported farther.  
I take a deep breath and head towards, thinking about what measurements to take against my opponent. I stop in the middle of my step. That was close.  
On the floor in front of me grows ivy. There haven't been any plants growing into the dungeon so far. I cast Enchantment-Detection. It's a trap, as I thought.  
Great, so I also have to watch out for traps, even though I'm in front? Well, the exam might've been too easy otherwise. I strengthen my body and jump across the field covered with ivy, without touching the ground. I don't want to ease the way for my opponent after all. Just as I'm about to safely land on the other side of the ivy field, my opponent suddenly appears in front of me. Damn, e caught up already! E turns around and cast Push, in order to push me into the ivy-trap. I manage to miss the attack by taking a step to the side. "Wait a minute!", I shout at em. But e ignores me and tries to cast another Push, which I also dodge.  
"We can settle this in another way!", I try again. This time e halts. "You're willing to pay me for forfeit, or something?", e inquires leisurely. Bribing?  
"How much would you want for your forfeit?", I ask out of curiosity. "100$", e answers. 100! That's a bit much. Besides, I don't want to BRIBE, in order to win my exam. That's simply wrong. "No chance. Anything else?", I further question em. I was the one proposing this, but e doesn't seem to mind. "Like what? Your body? I'm not interested in a kiss." First bribing, and now prostitution? What is wrong with this school?  
"I wanted to take care of this in a peaceful way, but you had to go and insinuate that I would be a w***e!", I hiss at em.  
E seems to be taken aback by my anger. While e still wonders, why I would react so strongly to eirs suggestion of mild prostitution, I cast Sleep on em.  
It's not enough, to actually make em fall asleep, but e staggers. This gives me enough time, to move the enchanted ivy-trap from behind me, to where e stands, using a dual spell of green and black magic (no blue magic needed, since I didn't transfer the charm itself). Meanwhile e regains eirs balance and tries another Push, to finally push me into the trap, not noticing the ivy burrowing towards em. Another Push-spell, really? How uncreative.  
The enchanted ivy reaches em and starts climbing em, cutting off eirs ability to move. I take my time to cast another sleep-spell, but put more energy in it this time. "Good night.", I wish em and continue on my way.  
I'm mentally tired now, from casting so much. I hope there aren't too many traps awaiting me, as I might faint otherwise. In front of me appears a… bird bath? Table?  
I can't really identify it, but it stands in the middle of corridor and is shaped out of stone. Smells like a trap. Though it's way too obvious.  
I double-cast Detect-Enchantment, to get more information about what kind of enchantment it is. It seems to blockade another object. The door?  
I take the risk of needlessly depleting my remaining mental resources and dissolve the enchantment. My opponent will soon wake up, I have to hurry.  
After I have finished dissolving the enchantment, I feel a light headache, but I continue on my way and soon arrive at a wooden door. I open the door and emerge out of the dungeon. Yes, that means I won.  
Potsdam is already waiting for me to congratulate me and give me merits, like usual. Though I won't actually receive the merits, since they're maxed out already. "Headmistress, may I ask you something?", I inquire Potsdam. She tilts her head curiously. "What is it, cupcake?", she chirps.  
"Just out of curiosity… How would you have reacted, if I took the offer to bribe or kiss my opponent?" Potsdam giggles at my question.  
"I would've given you more merits." The heck?! "….. why?", I probe further, perplexed. This school encourages bribery and mild prostitution?  
"For having solved the conflict without fighting against your opponent.", she explains to me. I can't say, that I agree with that argumentation, but she has a point.  
I rub my temples to relieve my headache, while I stagger back to my room.  
The rest of the evening I just laze around, not inclined to do anything remotely mentally-challenging.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Planning the holydays

* * *

On Saturday morning I oversleep a bit, so I hastily put some fresh robes on and do my hair into a loose bun, before heading to the post office. I decide to head to the mall with Virginia after breakfast. I got around 235$ right now, part of it is pocket money from Christmas and the rest are my saved up allowances. I don't take my whole savings with me, of course. I stroll a bit around in the mall. Apart from the food court and the arcade, there are various stores selling clothes, a supermarket and a book store. Furthermore, the mall also has a sporting goods store, a small music store and a store selling electronics. The mall is really big. After window-shopping a bit, to see what's new, I head to the book store and browse through the books. I couldn't find a book, which interests me, so I only eat some chocolate cake with Virginia at the food court, before heading back to the academy.

On Monday Potsdam approaches me, in order to persuade me to stay during the spring break. "Oh, Elise? Hello, dear. I was wondering about your plans for spring break." This was a game event, I can remember pretty well. Not in detail, though. "I'm going to stay here.", I reply to her.  
"You are welcome to remain here, you - huh?", Potsdam looks at me perplexed. What, surprised, that you don't have to persuade me? I don't want to stay with my parents, it's awkward. Besides, I can practice my magic more freely here. And about buying a dress with my mom, I can also buy one in the mall, I have enough savings after all. "Ah… come with me anyways.", Potsdam responds, having snapped out of it. I follow her into an empty classroom hesitatingly.  
"Staying here, will give you some time to spend with Hieronymus outside of the classroom environment.", she enthusiastically explains to me.  
"I doubt that he'll be inclined to spend his free time with me, a student.", I dryly reply. "No, not at the moment. However…", Potsdam comments.  
She looks suspicious. She wouldn't try to interfere again, would she? Maybe I should visit my parents. Is it too late to change my mind?  
Potsdam suddenly sighs. "There are things you ought to know then dealing with that minefield of a man." Changing the topic? She proceeds to tell me about Violet.  
I stay silent and simply listen to her. I know about this already anyways, so there is no use in telling her to stop. Potsdam ends her speech, encouraging me to pursue Hieronymus. I won't though. We may be married and I do like him more or less, despite his grumpiness, but nothing good will come out of falling for him.  
Or trying to seduce him.

The next day, I have a strange feeling. Like a bad premonition or something. Was anything supposed to happen today? I often glance at the calendar.  
March, the 18th, a Tuesday. Such a pity I don't know the dates of the events, otherwise I would know what it is, that's upsetting me. I don't sleep well that night, and wake up often, even though Virginia isn't sleep-talking for once. The next day I'm totally tired-out and have problems with focusing in class.  
At lunch Virginia tells us the newest gossip, as usual. I don't bother much with listening. "…. and then Pastel kissed her! Lydia was so surprised, she simply froze.  
Oh, and yeah. Did you hear?", Virginia babbles on. "Hear what?", Ellen interrupts, sounding mildly interested. "Damien's been expelled." I choke a bit on my food.  
Oh my gosh. That's what's been bothering me. Is Myreen all right? Or did he choose another victim? "I heard he got caught trying to take advantage of a freshman girl – no names named – and then Professor Potsdam called down flaming swords and sliced him up and he ran away.", Virginia continues.  
"That sounds a little… over-exaggerated.", Ellen comments. I wish I could agree with her… Suddenly I feel relieved about my decision to stay here.  
I think it's unlikely, that Damien would try something, but I'm safer here in the academy nonetheless. Anyways, it's a good thing, he's gone, right?  
I deliver the mail and allowances on Friday, since many students leave this evening for the holydays. There aren't many letters though. Among the mail is a blue envelope, addressed to me. I hesitate, but decide to open the letter and read it:

 _Dear Elise,_

 _I'm sure you have heard about my expulsion by now. Don't worry, I choose Myreen as a victim for the – hopefully successful – ritual. By the way, would you like to live in a castle or a palace? I will make you feel like a princess. I can't wait to see you again._

 _Love,_

 _Damien_

I stare at the letter, completely bewildered. Does he think, I would be okay with him using Myreen as a victim for his ritual? How evil does he think I am?! I'm seriously offended. I admit, that I'm not the nicest person, definitely no heroine-material, but I don't wish people harm! I'm not okay with people being harmed in my name!  
Even if I don't like them! For who the f**** does he mistake me? I hear the door open, probably Grabiner, who came to incinerate his letter. I snap out of my silent rage and turn to him. "Good morning, sir. Here to incinerate some letters?", I greet him, trying to speak in a neutral, calm voice. He just grunts something and takes his letter. I observe him starting to incinerate his letter, to assess how much 'energy' I have to put into the spell, then I turn to my letter and start imitating him.  
I draw a bit too much magic into the spell nonetheless, and the letter burns down too fast, resulting in me burning my fingers lightly. I'm not good with red magic...  
I hiss a bit at the pain and Grabiner raises an eyebrow at me. I ignore him and cast green magic, to heal the burn. It's not a serious wound, so my green magic is up to the task. Burn wounds are more difficult to heal than cuts and bruises. After speeding up the healing process of my hand, I stand up to deliver the mail.  
Grabiner still stands in the room. "Is there something else, Sir?" He would usually leave this room as soon as possible, refusing to spend more time with me than necessary. He glances at my hand, and turns back to face me. "I heard you'll stay over the holydays?", he asks me. I'm a bit taken aback at this question, since I didn't expect it. "That is correct, Sir.", I answer, unsure what he wants from me. Somehow his gaze feels a bit more intense now. "Why?"  
Is he afraid of me partaking in Potsdam's plans? "I can use magic here more freely, since I don't have to fear being discovered." I glance at the ashes, but don't comment on the academy's grounds being safer as well. My look returns to him. "I can assure you, that my decision wasn't influenced by Professor Potsdam. Please don't worry, Sir.", I add to calm him. He doesn't seem to be angry though. Rather than angry, he seems pensive.  
"If you excuse me, I have to deliver the mail, Sir. Good day to you." I start pushing the mail cart towards the door.  
"Good day to you, Miss… Elise.", he bids me goodbye, while opening the door for me. I'm surprised at him using my first name, but then I remember, that he can't carelessly address me as 'Miss Ojousama' anymore. I exit the room and we head of into opposite directions.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Holydays part 1

* * *

In the evening I go to the play with Ellen, to distract me from Damien. And because I like watching plays after all, plus it's a nice diversion from the daily routine.  
The play 'The Small Place Of Purchase Of Frightening Things' is as refreshing, amusing and weird as I imagined it to be from the game's description.  
The next day, nearly everyone leaves for the holydays. About 10% to 15% of the student body stays, either because they're wild seed and forgotten by their parents, or native seed but orphans.  
While wandering through the halls, unsure what to do with my free time, I come across Potsdam. "Oh, there you are, little tulip. I wanted to remind you of something.", she chirps. "About what?", I ask curiously. "Don't forget to spend some time with Hieronymus." Potsdam continues on her way, while laughing happily. This woman…

I decide to head to the gym and do some exercise. Since no one else is in the gym to play with, I practice doing handstands and cartwheels instead, after properly warming myself up. Since I've got an athletic body and was doing gymnastics in my last life, I soon get the hang of it. At the end of my workout, I stretch my body like usual. It's good to be flexible. I wash the sweat off my body, before heading to lunch in casual clothes. I sit down next to a window with a broccoli quiche.  
The canteen offers less dishes than usual, due to the holydays.  
Someone clears his throat behind me and I turn around to see Grabiner with a tablet, standing behind me. I greet him and look at him expectantly.  
What could he want from me? "May I sit down?", he politely inquires. The heck is going on? "Sure.", I answer him, curious as to why he would want to do that. Grabiner takes a seat opposite from me. "Professor Potsdam ordered me to inform you about the activities during the holydays. Since most students, who stay here, are already acclimated with the life here during the holydays, we only need to inform the 'newcomers'. You can find the holyday schedule at the black board, where the class schedules usually hang. Breakfast will be from 7.30 to 10am, like on the weekends.", he explains to me.  
"Oh, I see. What kind of activities? Are there classes?", I further inquire. I might go to one or two classes, since I'm a bit bored.  
Boredom vs. laziness, the struggle is real. Grabiner raises an eyebrow. "No, we only have summer classes, for those who are close to expulsion. Your mind needs the rest, you can revise your spells and study, but you shouldn't try to learn new spells, it might backfire.", he warns me. Backfire? Like what?  
Could I forget spells or collapse or something? "The students close to expulsion won't need the rest?", I ask him. "They get a month of rest, before summer classes start. Apart from that, most of them didn't work hard enough during school days anyways.", he dryly remarks. I knew he would say something like that.  
"Anything else I need to know?" He ponders for a moment. "No, that should be all." I wait for him to stand up with his plate, in order to bid him goodbye, but he simply starts eating. Does that mean, that I have to go instead? Like hell I would, I was here first. Or does he not mind eating lunch with me?  
Grabiner notices my suspicious glance. "Is there something else, you want to talk about?", he questions me in a slightly annoyed tone. "No, Sir.", I respond.  
"Then please try not to disturb me during my lunch.", he reprimands me. O-kay… Guess I should just start eating.  
Halfway through his lunch, Grabiner starts reading his book, and eats less as time goes on, until he stops eating completely, only focusing on his book.  
I suppress a chuckle. So typical! I finish my meal and politely bid him goodbye, but he doesn't seem to notice. Must be a fascinating book, I wonder what it is about?  
I bet it has a needlessly long and complicated name about something super-intellectual and uncommon.

I head to the black board, to check out these holyday activities. There are handicraft lessons on some days before lunchtime, and I can go to the mall on Wednesday.  
I will definitely go to the mall, I still need to buy a prom dress, though I don't know, whether I will even go to the May Dance. I'm not good with handicraft, but I consider trying it out anyways. I take a walk through the halls and then head to my dorm room to get my clarinet. I wanted to play it in the mail office first, but then again I'm alone here, since Ellen went with Virginia. Our room neighbors are also gone. I practice a few sound tracks from 'the Godfather' until it's time for dinner.  
I head to the library after dinner. Maybe I find something interesting to read. I browse through the bookshelves. Magazines, photobooks, dictionaries – maybe I should try to improve my German a bit? I take one German dictionary with me. What else? Books about cooking, gardening, handcrafting… I'll take one of these handcrafting books with me. There are also a few magic books on very specific topics. I have browsed them before; they won't help me yet. My skill level is still too low.  
I go to the next aisle. These books are about mundane history. I'm not very interested in history, unless it's about the arts, but decide to take a closer look anyway.  
I don't get their sorting system though. Some of the books are not written in English, but in other mundane languages, which makes it more difficult to discern how they're organized. In the aisle with the magic books were also a lot of books written in languages I couldn't recognize. Probably in languages from the Otherworld.  
I wonder how many languages Potsdam and Grabiner can speak? Or can they simply use some kind of spell to understand any language they desire?  
You can use white magic in order to communicate with a being, whose language you don't speak, however this is due to the fact, that you don't communicate using actual words, but rather thoughts. Thoughts are something more complex than just unsaid words, we may be able to think in a language, or even switch the languages we think in, but the thought in itself doesn't need language. While I'm in deep thought, a book is returned beside me. I glance sideways.  
"Good evening, Sir.", I greet Grabiner. "Good evening.", he replies in a neutral voice. Somehow he seems more relaxed, maybe due to the holydays?  
I look at the book he put back. 'Publius Cornelius Tacitus – De origine et situ Germanorum liber'. Something sounds familiar? Tacitus was a roman historian, right?  
This should be his book about the Germanic tribes. "Are you looking for something specific?", he asks me annoyed, since I have been staring at the book he put back. "Something about Romantic?", I mumble. "Romantic? This section doesn't contain stories for hormone-driven teenagers.", he sarcastically remarks.  
I should've spoken more clearly. "You misunderstood. I meant the Romantic era, not some romantic novel.", I explain to him unfazed.  
"I see. Regarding which topics?", he inquires. Will he help me? "About the arts.", I reply. "Arts?" "Yeah, like music, painting, or architecture. There's nothing specific I'm looking for.", I respond. "I see. The books are sorted according topic, continent, then era and last alphabetically. You may find something interesting on the other side of this aisle, at the end.", he explains to me, while pointing towards some bookshelf. I thank him and follow his direction. Sometimes he is surprisingly helpful.  
Most students don't dare to approach him, or ask him questions, even in class, but he often goes out of his way to advice those, who seek his help.  
The student body doesn't notice it, but he is a very dedicated teacher. He is still too strict though, he should loosen up a bit. I soon find a book about romantic painters and one about romantic architecture, and decide to take both with me. Caspar David Friedrich is the only romantic painter I know, but he is my favorite artist, so I might like other romantic painters as well. My favourite painting from him is 'Mondaufgang am Meer'. I don't know, why I like his paintings so much though, I guess they have something dreamy. After that I continue browsing the library for a bit and also take a book about flower language with me, before heading back to my room and reading a bit.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26: Holydays part 2

* * *

The next morning, I find a letter addressed to the door. I look at the calendar. Sunday, March the 23th. Why do I have mail? I curiously open the letter.

 _Dear Elise,_

 _Don't forget to spend some time with Hieronymus._

 _Kind regards,_

 _Petunia Potsdam_

I use the letter for incineration practice. This time I manage not to burn my fingers. It's unlike Potsdam to meddle so much, isn't it? In the game she wouldn't listen to you about Minnie and Kyo's abusive relationship. But then again, the player was AGAINST the romance, maybe that was the problem. Since Potsdam was happily married for fifteen years to a person, who would divorce her for not informing em about her visiting her home, her own relationships probably can't be described as healthy.  
Apart from practicing gymnastics in the gym and reading the books, I also practice my magic a bit. I strengthen my body, while in gym, cast Awareness while roaming the campus and teleport myself sometimes. I don't talk much to the other students, who stayed, since I'm not close to any of them. I feel a bit lonely, to be honest.  
On Monday I try out sewing, partly to interact with other people. There are just six other students beside me, who also attend Potsdam's sewing class, but I manage to do a bit small talk with them. As to my sewing… there is room for improvement.  
After class Potsdam reminds me AGAIN, that I should spend some time with Hieronymus. How should I do that anyways?  
This man doesn't leave his room, unless it's time to eat or switch books! And since he wouldn't appreciate me visiting him for no reason, I don't know, how I could possibly spend more time with him. However, I don't bother to tell Potsdam about that, because I fear that she might come up with a plan to force Grabiner out of his room.  
In the evening, I try to learn a bit German, by repeating some vocabulary. For some reason I sleep really badly that night and wake up early.  
As I come back to my room, after taking a shower in the morning, I find just another letter for me on the floor. Seriously Potsdam, what are you even trying to achieve with that? I sigh and grab the letter before heading to the library to bring the book about romantic painters back. The book gave me a lot of information about the painters and their paintings, in addition to showing me the paintings. Caspar David Friedrich is still my favorite, but I also liked a few paintings from J. M. W. Turner.  
I didn't read the whole book, I only read the passages, which interested me. I may be studious, but I'm not studious enough to turn myself into an art expert in my free time. It's still early, so no one else is in the library yet. I return the book and sit down at a table to read my letter. I still have the courtesy to read my letters, unlike certain other people, but if Potsdam continues with her stupid notes, I may start incinerating them without reading as well.  
With a sigh I open the envelope. I hear the door open, looks like I'm not alone here anymore. I don't pay any attention to the other person and start to read.

 _Dear Elise,_

Ok, the handwriting is different. Is the letter from someone else? It looks familiar though.

 _I noticed, that you didn't return home, which is a pity. I was sure for some reason, that you would want to see your parents._

I yawn. I'm really tired, such a pity I couldn't sleep anymore.

 _I wanted to visit you, but it seems I have to use other means, to contact you. Thus I decided to write this letter to you._

I'm feeling so sleepy, maybe I should try to go to bed again, after heading back to my room.

 _Do you still remember, then I wrote to you, that I would gift you a palace?_

… Damien?

 _Well, I want to see you, so I decided to take action. I'm not really patient, to be honest, so I don't want to wait for you anymore._

 _Sleep well and don't forget to dream about me!_

 _Yours truly,_

 _Damien_

'The heck?', is the last thing, which goes through my mind, as I slump down and fall asleep.

"Idiot!" Mhhm? "Wake up, right now!" Someone's yelling at me? "Elise, if you don't open your eyes RIGHT NOW, I will give you demerits!" I blink and stare into the face of… Hieronymus? "Wha?", I mumble confused. What is happening? Am I still dreaming? I had a really strange dream just a minute ago. I rub my eyes and take a look around. I'm in the library? Why am I in the library? And why… why is Hieronymus holding me?! I sit straight up in shock, bumping heads with him. "Ouch...", I complain while rubbing my head. Grabiner also rubs his, while hissing at me, "Detention on Saturday, Miss… Elise!" What? Detention? Why? That's unfair!  
I haven't done anything, have I? "Why? I don't understand… what happened?", I ask him, still confused.  
"What happened? You nearly managed to get yourself abducted, Miss… by Mr. Ramsay! Would you be so kind and explain to me, why you touched his letter without any precaution whatsoever, even though you KNEW, that he is dangerous and aiming for you!", Grabiner scolds me. Sh*t, he sounds super-pissed.  
Anyways, I got nearly abducted? "I… I thought it was a letter from Potsdam… She, she wrote me a note before… So I didn't think that it could be enchanted…", I stutter. "… didn't think…", Grabiner repeats angrily. He sounds a bit tired… "But I just fell asleep, right? How could Damien abduct me? The academy grounds are safe, aren't they?", I inquire, still confused about the situation. Grabiner sighs. "After making you fall asleep, the enchantment was meant to teleport you, probably to his hideout, or something. You're lucky, that I had to return a book, otherwise…", Hieronymus pauses, unwilling to continue.  
Well, I can see what might've been the end of the story, and it wouldn't have been a happy end for me.  
Anyways, an enchanted letter, which gets triggered by being read and makes me fall asleep, and in addition to that even teleport me?  
"That is some next-level enchantment.", I comment bitterly. Grabiner stands up. "Indeed, he even combined it with white magic, so that it would only be triggered by you. Someone must've helped him with that, Mr. Ramsay shouldn't be able to do such a complicated enchantment on his own.", Grabiner responds coldly.  
Damien had help? I hug my knees. Suddenly I feel really unsafe. Really, really unsafe. To think I nearly got abducted while on campus…  
Good thing, that I didn't return home! But as long as Damien runs free… Suddenly my eyes sting. I'm afraid! So afraid! Why is he so obsessed with me?  
It doesn't make sense! What have I done wrong? Grabiner clears his throat. "The council has already been informed about Damien's expulsion… and his potential danger. He will be dealt with soon enough, don't waste your time worrying. Just don't do something foolish, and check your mail before opening it, that should suffice." Is… is he trying to comfort me, or something? "May I ask you something, Sir? Why would Damien try to abduct me, even though I'm married? Shouldn't I be safe?", I ask him nervously, still on the floor, hugging my knees. "There are ways to sever our… arrangement after the year and day is over, without us meeting directly.  
But it's more complicated and would still require your cooperation. I can only speculate how he planned to achieve it.", Grabiner answers me calmly.  
Something about his voice is really soothing. I compose myself and stand up. "Thank you very much for saving me, Sir.", I properly thank him.  
"You really have a talent for getting yourself in danger.", he angrily remarks. I can't argue with that, unfortunately. "Well then…", he begins, but stops. I fidget a bit. "What is it?", he asks me annoyed. "I just… I really don't want to be alone right now.", I quietly confess. What am I saying? More importantly to whom!  
Like he would care about such things... Grabiner might worry a lot about the physical well-being of his students, but he doesn't concern himself with their mental well-being after all. Silence unfolds, as he just stares at me, while I avoid his gaze. I already regret saying it.  
"You may join me for breakfast. But only this time.", he finally replies. He… lets me join him for breakfast? He really is unusually nice to me lately.  
I quietly follow him to the canteen, which has just opened. We're the first to eat. Otherwise he probably would've abandoned me right now. We both get us a tea and something to eat and sit down near to a window. He has some cereal and I have pancakes. Yei, pancakes. I finally get to eat some, they cheer me up a bit.  
Grabiner starts eating, while reading his book and sipping his tea from time to time. He totally ignores me, as expected. When I have finished my pancakes, Grabiner also stopped eating, being completely engrossed in his book. Is that some kind of ritual for him? His food isn't finished… Wasting food is not ok!  
I enjoy my tea while I silently observe him. He absent-mindedly sips his tea – an Earl Grey, like mine – without looking up from his book. He's really handsome…  
I direct my gaze towards the window. We're still the only ones in the canteen, unless the kitchen stuff is invisible or something. I have actually never seen them, everything is self-service. It's actually pretty magical, maybe they're brownies or something? I take another sip, when another student arrives in the canteen.  
A butterfly girl with brown hair, which turns violet towards the hair-ends. A Junior, if I'm correct. She stops as she passes by us and stares at us questioningly.  
Grabiner doesn't notice of course, since he is still engrossed in his book. "Is something the matter?", I ask her politely.  
"No, just… why are you sitting with Grab- Professor Grabiner?", she aks me. Nosy. "I'm class treasurer." Which is the truth. "We had business to discuss."  
Not too long ago, we were discussing about Damien's attempt of kidnapping me, which is serious business, though it has nothing to do with being treasurer.  
"In the holydays…?", she probes further. Grabiner finally looks up, annoyed. She starts to fidget a bit due to this.  
"There was a problem with a letter, but it's not your business.", I reply to her. Which is also the truth. "Is there a reason you're so interested in my duties? You want to run for class treasurer next year?", I ask her nonchalantly. I don't want her to start any weird gossips about Grabiner and me.  
"Oh. No, I'm not interested.", she excuses herself and fetches her breakfast. Looks like I managed to avoid strange rumors. Grabiner glances at me and then turns back to his book. Was that approval? He seems satisfied with my handling of the situation. I finish my tea and stand up. "Thank you for breakfast, Sir.", I whisper. "Well then, I'll excuse myself now. Good day, Sir.", I add in normal volume. I visit another handicraft lesson; this time it's weaving.  
Apparently the school owns a few weaving frames. I'm better at it, then at sewing. Anyways, these activities are a bit… feminine, aren't they?  
The boy-girl ration is about 1:1 though. At the end Potsdam informs us, that the next handicraft session will be building bird houses.  
So we will do less 'feminine' things as well. I spend the rest of the day in the gym and in my room.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Holydays part 3

* * *

The next day I want to head to the mall, but after yesterday's incident… While I wander the halls, I come across Potsdam.  
"Good morning, Darling. Why're you not at the mall?", she chirps. I tell her about Damien's letter. "Oh my, don't worry about that, you still have your knight in shining armor. Who will have to accompany you, of course.", she happily exclaims. "This is the perfect opportunity for you to spend some time!"  
What does she think will happen, if the other students see me strolling around with Grabiner?! This woman doesn't possess any common sense at all!  
"What about the other students?", I remind her calmly. "Yeah, it's true. You won't be able to fully enjoy your date, since you can't be seen together. However! He can still stay near you!", Potsdam dramatically replies. She… is really enthusiastic about this. "Ah, secret lovers, shunned by society. It's so beautiful.", she continues while holding her cheeks, her eyes strangely shining. She really needs to stop reading so many romance novels. Or stop taking drugs, or something.  
"Will it really be safe for me to go?", I ask her, still skeptical. "The mall may be off-campus, but it is still under my protection, cupcake. The magical employees of the mall agreed to enhance their wards a bit, and we have added some more precautions against enchanted mail. With Hieronymus' special protection, in addition to the usual protection of the adults there, you should be safe." I'm surprised to hear that. I knew, that Potsdam has some kind of reputation and power in the magical world,  
but I didn't know, that her influence on the magical shop and the Glen would be that big. I agree to head to the mall, since I want to buy a dress for the May Dance.

I go with Grabiner's van, together with a snake girl and a toad boy. The snake girl is a freshman like me. We're the last to depart, the most students are already at the mall. I directly head towards a clothing store, selling formal wear. Ugh, these dresses are so expensive! Good thing I took my whole money with me this time…  
But I'm really unwilling to spend so much money on a dress, which I'm probably not even going to wear. I ignore the color of the dresses, even though a lot of them don't suit my hair color, since I can alter the color of the dress with black magic. I choose a long dress, which is bright red with black embroidery covering my chest and shoulders. The color doesn't suit my hair, but the dress should look nice on me in dark green, or dark blue. I cry internally, while paying the 95$.  
Oh well, even if I don't enjoy the May Dance, I should be able to wear this dress sometime. Given that my life here will continue after the May Dance… After spending so much money on the dress, I'm not in the mood to waste more money, but there is still time, before the first van drives back.  
As I leave the store, I spot Grabiner, reading his book, while sitting on a bank nearby and sipping a coffee from time to time. So he really stayed near… that means he is probably extremely annoyed, because of me, right? He looks a bit annoyed, right now. Maybe I was too selfish of me to come here. Well, it's too late to change my mind now. I head to the supermarket, to buy some packs of simple hairclips, before spending the rest of my time in the bookstore. This is way he should be able to stay near me, without growing too bored. I randomly browse the bookshelves. The bookstore even has an international section, with books in other languages.  
They have books in Spanish, French, Italian, and … German! Among the German books is the book 'The swarm'. I have read it in my last life, so I decide to purchase it.  
I already know what it's about, so it should be easier to read. This will be a good practice for my German. Soon it's time to head back to the academy and I drive in Grabiner's van again.

I spend the evening reading my new book, using the dictionary from time to time to help me translating. The next day, I attend another handicraft course, and we spent it building bird houses as promised. After that I alter the color of my new dress using black magic, by turning the satin-part from bright red to dark blue.  
The dress is a bit dark for a ball and I'm still thinking of adjusting the blue part to a brighter blue. Maybe I can make the color brighter on top, slowly becoming darker towards the bottom. But for now, I'm going to leave it as it is. The rest of my holydays I spent in the gym, reading my books, practicing the spells I already learned and attending another handicraft session. This time we were making clay figures and we were also allowed to use black magic for this.  
I didn't meet Grabiner for another time, so he probably completely shut himself in his room for the whole time. Hikkikomori, much? He has a job though… Ellen and Virginia finally came back on Sunday, and we talked about our holydays. Pastel also visited Virginia, I'm starting to feel like an outcast, since Virginia didn't invite me over yet. Well, she is rather insensitive by nature, so she probably didn't even notice that I'd like to visit her as well. I shouldn't take it personally.  
While Virginia rambled on, on how she fought with a bear in the woods (the heck?), Ellen looked a bit… shy. Oh? Did she enjoy her holydays with Donald?  
I wonder how Virginia could've missed it, if they were flirting. But then again… this is Virginia, I'm talking about after all. And both, Ellen and Donald can be quite sneaky. He is the king of pranks, and she joined a secret organization in the game under certain circumstances.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28: April fools!

* * *

On Tuesday Potsdam distributed potted plants to us in my green magic class and told us to communicate with the spirit of the plants, since today would be a special lesson. I glance at the calendar. It's April the 1st, as expected. I suppress my giggle, as I watch the other students trying to speak with plants.  
Some of them are even stroking their plants, apparently believing the plant spirits would just ignore them. I'm amazed at how long it takes them to see through Potsdam's prank. You're too naïve! Professor Bodkin also distributed special material today, dummies, which we should attack with our spells.  
After having witnessed Potsdam's April prank, I was suspicious about these special props, so I waited for the others to attack their dummies first, but nothing seemed to happen. With a shrug I also started attacking my dummy, when I suddenly heard a shriek.  
Apparently, you get splashed with water, if you attack a dummy, however the effect is triggered with a delay. I have to admit, that it was a hilarious prank, the stupid faces of the other students, after being splashed, were simply too funny. My last class is one of Grabiner's classes and I can relax.  
He's not really the type to prank his class, he's too serious for that.

After class is finished, he approaches me. "If I might have a word?" He is really polite towards me lately. "Of course, Sir.", I reply. "After you." He points to his classroom and I follow him back in. "As you are unfamiliar with the local customs, and I have been unable to locate Miss Cochran, I should inform you about an upcoming event. The first storm in the month of April is celebrated with a Thunder Call. As soon as a storm picks up sufficient strength, no matter the time of day, all students must gather in the gym. As officers, it falls to you to ensure that the members of your class are notified and rounded up.", he informs me.  
I wonder, if celebrating this ritual will be fun? It only seemed tiring to the player unfortunately, since it will be late. I continue silently listening.  
"The purpose of the rite is to cause exhaustion and headaches through drumming, wild gyrations and screaming at the top of one's lungs.", he sarcastically continues explaining. "I take it's not your favorite rite?", I tease him a bit. "Custom is king of all. I am, however, grateful that a few minutes of applause is considered sufficient contribution on my part.", he answers with a small smile. "As a class officer, particularly one under the sign of Horse Hall, you will be expected to make a much more public showing." Just because Horses are 'adventurous'? I won't mind a bit of yelling and stomping though, sounds easy enough.  
"There is no formalized pattern. Leap and stomp as you wish; that will suffice. It is also important, that you maintain order among the underclassmen. Freshman are not, under any circumstances, to attempt fire-spinning.", he further informs me. "Pity.", I comment. "YOU do NOT.", he emphasizes. Is he worried about me?  
Danger may look for me, but I'm not looking for danger! "Of course I won't.", I pout. "If you have no further questions, you may be on your way."  
I take a moment to think about it. Is there something left to discuss? I still don't have enough evidence to talk about Kyo, mentioning Minnie's troubles would only be misunderstood as 'meddling'. "This Thunder Call, it's also a rite to please spirits?", I inquire. I don't exactly remember this part of the game, but I think it was similar to the Dark Dance in this way. He proceeds to explain to me, how it celebrates some existing force and affirming kinship with our magic and this power, and mentions dragons and the school of California. So dragons are the spirits responsible for thunderstorms or something?  
"Oh, before I leave, I'd like to thank you for accompanying me, Sir.", I politely thank him for playing bodyguard at the mall. "May I ask, why you didn't want to go home for the holydays?", he asks. I'm surprised, that he shows so much interest in me lately. Is there a reason? "Apart from Damien? Being with my family feels too strange. I don't feel very close to them, which makes me feel unfilially, on top of being weirded out.", I reply honestly.  
"It is a common difficulty for students of wild seed origin.", he comments. I think my case is a bit special though…  
"Which is why students like yourself are often given the option of living at the school fulltime. You might consider it. It can be for the best." I nod.  
"I will. For now, I can't leave this place anyways. Even visiting the mall would already result in troubling you, after all. It seems, my very existence is fated to annoy you.", I answer with an apologetic smile. "You're not entirely troublesome.", he replies. His voice is quite soft, compared to his usual tone of voice.  
I can feel my face heating up a bit. I'm blushing?! Again?! Get a grip, Elise! I can even feel my heartbeat fasten… I'm really hopeless, getting all nervous from a compliment. A compliment, which barely counts as a compliment, which wouldn't count if someone – anyone – else would be saying this.  
A compliment from my Professor! From someone nearly twice my current age! What's wrong with me? I look away and compose myself, before facing him again.  
Is that a small smile on his lips? It's always so hard to tell with his poker face. "Besides, thanks to this, I found this interesting series about a group of school girls fighting the evil. I bought three volumes.", he tells me with a straight face. I look at him perplexed. Like Sailor Moon, or something?  
"April fools." …I'm an idiot. I can't help but chuckle. "Such a pity, I was about to recommend you this series of a school girl, hunting demons as a thief in her spare time.", I tease him back. 'Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne', for those, who don't get the reference. "Well then, I shall take my leave." We bid goodbye and I spent the rest of the day reading. I finish my German book the same day. The rest of the week proceeds without any further incidents.

On Saturday, I do my treasurer duties and Grabiner drops by to burn another letter from his dad. After that he holds the door open for me, so that I can push the cart outside without problems. He has done that a few time already, how surprisingly considerate of him. After returning to my room, Virginia tries to persuade me to go to the mall with her, but I decline. I wouldn't trouble him so soon again… Ellen decides to stay with me, and we study together in the library.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Putting an end to secrecy

* * *

The next day, I come across Minnie, Kyo and Jacob fighting in the campus gardens. A crowd has already gathered. This is this game event, right? I should take the chance according to the game flow and inform Grabiner about Kyo. A public argument… If I would've told him at April fools, he wouldn't have listen.  
Potsdam won't listen anyways, given her transfigured view on love, it is to be expected, I guess. I thought about informing another professor sooner, but I couldn't think of someone suitable for problems like this. This school really needs a guidance counselor or something. Potsdam is good at comforting students, but she'll ignore certain problems. Problems like the impropriety of a marriage between a student and a professor.  
I see Kyo stomping off, and he heads right to me, even though I positioned myself far to the side. Where is he headed to anyways? There is only a rarely visited herb garden behind me. What does he intend to do there? I personally like the garden, which is why strolled around there. The lavender smells so good…  
Since he is directly approaching me, I greet him, "Good afternoon, Kyo." "Out of my way." He is so rude. Who does he think he is, anyway? "What did you do to Minnie?", I ask him, unfazed by his anger. "Nothing happened." I furrow my brows. "It's time to finally give up on Minnie. She is clearly not interested in you, just stop bothering her. You've been emotionally abusing her, in case you haven't noticed.", I calmly reply. "Nobody asked you! You women are all the same, pushing and prying and playing little games.", he yells at me. Go on and confess your twisted world view... "You were the one pushing Minnie, weren't you?", I retort, still calm.  
"You've been trying to keep us down, make us weak, but this time I'm fighting back. And if anyone gets in my way, then watch out!"  
What does he even mean by 'trying to keep us down'? It sounds like what he has done to Minnie. His world view must be ridiculously twisted. I turn away with a sigh and go to find Hieronymus. Talking to Kyo is useless.

I head to Grabiner's rooms. The player found him in a classroom, but I don't know why he should be there. Besides, Potsdam prepared me for my wedding in her office as well, and not in another empty classroom. I take a deep breath, before I knock on his door with the lion doorknocker.  
"What is your issue for coming here?", the lion asks me. "Advice.", I reply. I wait a moment, but the door doesn't swing open, like before. Grabiner opens it instead.  
He sighs, as he sees me and questions me annoyed, "Why are you bothering me?" Let me guess, you were reading a good book right now?  
"My apologies. I need to talk to you about Kyo… and Minnie.", I explain calmly. "I have no interest in the personal lives of students.", he scoffs.  
Must be a really good book, that he has been reading... "I'm aware of that. Nonetheless I need to talk to you about them. May I come in?" He steps aside with a sigh and motions me to come inside. I consider sitting down on his couch, but decide to keep standing. "Explain.", he orders me with crossed arms.  
"Minnie sought my advice multiple times about her relationship. She felt pressured and stressed out, because of her relationship with Kyo, and broke off with him due to this, unable to take it anymore. However, he made a public spectacle about their love, using peer pressure to force her to take him back. She broke off with him for the same reasons soon, of course. Though that didn't keep Kyo from spending 100$ on valentines for her.", I start to explain.  
"Controlling and emotionally manipulative behavior.", Hieronymus comments. "Indeed. And now he yells at her in public, demanding that she takes him back, claiming he would die without her and talking about how she only would need the space he gives her."  
Ok, the last thing he didn't actually say, but he would've told me that, if I would have told him to just give Minnie some time.  
"Is there anything else?", Grabiner asks. "Just a weird coincidence. Minnie seems to be dating Jacob, to Kyo's disapproval of course. And Jacob was the one, whose room was on fire not too long ago.", I inform him. "Yes, I believe I should speak with Mr. Katsura." Yes, mission complete. "I'm surprised you brought this to me.  
I would not be most people's first choice for issues of a personal nature." I smile at him. "Should I have gone to Professor Potsdam instead? I'm afraid her views about marriage and love are a bit… distorted. Besides, I was sure you would listen to me." It's a game event after all.  
"At least this time you would…", I mumble gloomily. He won't listen to me, after Minnie spilled the beans about our marriage, unfortunately.  
He raises an eyebrow at me questioningly, but I ignore that.  
"Anyways, thank you for listening to me, Sir. I knew, I can trust you, if it is about the protection of a student." "I … see.", he replies, sounding a little surprised.  
"Well then, if you excuse…", I turn to go. "… Elise." I turn back to him. I'm a bit surprised, that he uses my first name so directly, without a 'Miss…' in front of it.  
"Yes, Sir?", I ask him politely. "It is not strictly necessary for you to refer to me as 'Sir' at all times." My… heart beats a tad faster. "While we are in public, of course, you will continue to respect my position and do nothing to invite comment." "Of course.", I bid him goodbye and leave.  
My face feels a bit flushed… Dammit, I have to snap out of it! In the evening I lie down in my bed, and draw a bit on my ceiling in deep thought. I can't help but think of Hier- Grabiner lately. It's as if he would haunt me. And those blushes… is this the game making me fall in love with him? He can be so rude sometimes, but I kind of like his sarcasm. His grouchiness aslo stopped bothering me. And the incident with Minnie… it feels as if we grew closer? And Minnie… then will the news about our marriage make the round? I'm a bit afraid of that, but waiting for it to happen is even worse…

Well, I don't have to wait for long though, the next day everyone around me seems to be whispering about something. My chest feels tight as I wander through the halls in the break, due to my bad 'premonition'. But I have to make sure, that what I think happened really happened, they might be talking about Minnie instead.  
I look around for a suitable person to ask and spot Manuel. How fitting. The player approached him in the game, and since he's a nice guy, though a bit too shy, I also go to him. He starts speaking, before I can manage to question him about anything. "Are you alright?" He looks so concerned, how adorable.  
But right now, I'm not alright at all. I'm afraid of what is going to happen next. "Yes, I am. And how do you do?", I try to act nonchalantly.  
"Is he cruel to you?", he probes further, ignoring my question. "I have no idea, who you might be talking about?", I still try to act. "Your… husband."  
Oh, just f***k it. I knew where was no way to escape. "Excuse me?", I reply, sounding calm. "You mean it's not true? Everyone was talking about it." I just stare at him. Why do the people in this school love to gossip this much anyway?  
"Oh, there you are." Great, here comes the b*tch. "My congratulations to the happy couple. A bit late, I know, but I suppose you didn't want everyone to know how you earned your grades.", Angela mocks me. Jealous, because I aced my exams? But we don't receive grades for those.  
"What grades? Are you feeling unwell, Angela?", I ask her in the sweetest voice I can muster right now. I also know how to act b*tchy, though I'm not as good as you. "So it really happened, hm?" And with that the students start to lunge at me, like a pack of hungry wolves. "I'm sorry for you." Don't be, it's not that tragic.  
"How is he in bed?" I'd like to know that as well, but I wouldn't tell you, even if I knew. "There was your honeymoon?" Uhm… at the Glen? But I went there without him… "Are you really married?!" I'm not allowed to deny my marriage, right? Or the Manus might rightfully eat me, or something. "Hang in there!" Thank you, but I would prefer everyone leaving me alone right now.  
As I start to prepare to teleport myself to the herb garden, and then to my room, so that no one can follow me, I hear Grabiner yelling, "YOU!" I take a deep breath. This is going to be hard, my eyes are already stinging. I didn't cry at my wedding, so why would I cry now?! The other students make a passage and in front of me stands an angry Grabby. Quite a frightening sight. He grabs my arm and yells, "You will come with me." My lovely husband proceeds to drag me to an empty classroom. He releases me and I rub my arm gloomily, knowing he won't listen to me. "Do you think this is a joke, _Mrs. Grabiner_? Do you realize that you and I are now the laughingstocks of the entire school?" I clench my fists and bite my lip, but continue being silent. "I allowed you the courtesy of informality. I offered you an olive branch and you threw it into the fire. Your utter lack of discretion- ", he sounds hurt, but I'm getting angry nonetheless. Just because I knew it would happen, doesn't mean it's ok! "I wasn't the one lacking discretion.", I hiss at him. Just listen for once, stubborn fool! "You have already taken me for a fool, and yet you need to repeat the offense." You're the one repeating the offense! The offence of not listening! "You… stubborn…!", I yell at him, unable to think of a suitable insult due to my anger.  
I admit, I'm a bit emotional right now. His body twitches with rage and he pins me to the wall, using magic. "NO. MORE. LIES."  
I just stare at him; with the same rage he feels. He looks deeply hurt, in addition to his rage, but I don't care about that right now.  
"Like a child, you think yourself immortal. Invincible. You can't imagine the consequences of your actions. Your life was at stake and you knew it, but what did you care? We were always there to save you." I just continue staring at him, while he rambles on about his oath to protect me and how he can also uphold that oath by confining me in the dungeons. I take the time to compose myself. He releases his spell and I fall down. I stand up, and without another word, or just a glance at him, I leave the classroom, with my head held high.

As soon as I'm outside, I teleport to my room and slump down on my bed. I'm unable to hold back the tears, which I have been fighting all along. My anger is still there and I would prefer blowing something up, over crying, but I'm too soft in moments like these. It doesn't take long, until Virginia and Ellen come to find me.  
"Please just leave me alone.", I tell them, not bothering to lift my face from my pillow. "it's a lie, isn't it, what everyone's saying? That's why you're mad."  
Do I look angry? With my crying face buried in my pillow? But then again, I AM angry and I do cry when I'm angry, unfortunately. A feat, which I personally hate about me. "I'll beat em up for you, if you want.", Virginia offers me comfortingly. "Leave me alone, please?", I ask her again. "What's with you?", Virginia replies, insensitive as ever. "It's true, isn't it?", Ellen asks me softly. "There is no way that Elise and Grabby got married." Is that the right thing to say, for someone, who is forced to marry when turning eighteen? The oath Virginia made as a child should exist after all, whether I pursued her or not. "Yeah, I accidently had to marry him. Happy now?"  
"Oh, come on. How do you accidently marry somebody?" You're really not the right person to say that… "For example, by making a stupid promise as a child to your childhood friend? Or in my case, by trying to save someone's life.", I answer her dryly. I'm starting to regain my composure a bit.  
"How could you possibly marry a teacher and not tell us?", Virginia complains. "As if he would allow me to tell you!", I retort.  
"Will you tell us what really happened?", Ellen asks. "He experimented with a Manus, collapsed in the post office, I tried to wake him up, fell into the pentagram, got attacked by the Manus, got saved by the promise of marriage, since the Manus is sworn to protect his family line, which means he wasn't really in danger to begin with, got prepared for my wedding by Potsdam, married him and went on to eat in the Glen without him, but with Potsdam.", I summarize the whole ordeal, leaving out some tidbits of information. They don't need to know about Potsdam's true, frightening nature.  
"Oh, and yeah, now he hates me, because he thinks I would be so stupid as to spill the beans. If you'll excuse me, I'd like to pity myself a bit more and feel miserable." I proceed to assume an embryo-pose, with my pillow between my arms.  
Soon I hear the first knock on my door and Virginia heads out, to lead them astray. I express my gratitude to the both of them, before Virginia starts hunting 'me'. People continue bothering our room the whole day and even won't stop at night. I cast Silence on the door, but I have to recast it every now and then. It's really annoying. The students here are way too gossipy.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30: A thorough apology

* * *

I wake up the next morning to a knocking on the door. Seriously? It's still way too early to hunt for gossip! Ellen proposes to deal with it, but I object. Another two knocks on the door. "A moment of your time… please?" Suddenly my chest feels tight again. He's here to apologize. How should I deal with him?  
I calmed down, but I'm not ready to forgive him. His behavior was not ok, fated by the game or not. I sigh, stand up and head to the door, still in my nightgown.  
"Wait a minute, I need to properly dress myself first.", I inform him. There is no way, that I will appear in front of him in my night gown. …at least not yet.  
I mean never! Never! That man doesn't deserve my love! I may be willing to give him my forgiveness, but nothing more.  
I brush my hair and put a fresh robe on, before I open the door. I look him directly in the eyes. He looks a bit embarrassed. And depressed. And ashamed.  
Yeah, you should be ashamed. "Elise. I believe I owe you…", he starts apologizing. Of course you do. He sighs. "Miss Cochran has taken responsibility for carelessly allowing certain information to become available. It was inappropriate for me to jump to conclusions, and I did not treat you as a gentleman should. I am sorry."  
Yeah, you should be. But I suddenly can't muster my anger up anymore. "If you really are sorry, you should make up for it.", I finally bring myself to answer him.  
He looks at me confused. "Make up? I don't understand…" I take a deep breath.  
"You gave me a bad memory. You should make up for it with a good one. This way you would really take responsibility for what you have done.", I explain to him.  
He thinks about my proposal for a moment. "It sounds like a reasonable request. But what do you have in mind?", he inquires carefully.  
"Dinner at the Glen." I don't have to think about it for long. "It would be inap- ", he begins, but I interrupt him, "People think, that I would sleep with you, and you think a dinner would be inappropriate? I'd like to inform you, that I was asked about your bed skills." He seems shocked about the last part.  
Well, he is a scary teacher, no one would ask him about mine, right? "Well, then…", I begin. He will probably need some time to think about my proposal.  
"Very well. I will notify you about the time, as soon as I have the reservation." …He agreed? I didn't expect him to agree so fast.  
Somehow my mood has significantly improved. "It seems that I spend a great deal of time apologizing to you." I smile wryly. "Sounds like marriage to me.", I tease him. He sniffs. "Perhaps so. As the lid is off the box, I will make the appropriate announcements. Fear of reprisals should discourage at least some of the attention."  
I thank him, although he will certainly overdo things, and make the whole student body fear me. But such is the fate of a wife of a scary teacher, I guess.

I attend one of his blue magic classes, later in the day and he makes the announcement of our marriage, without actually telling anything about the circumstances of our marriages. But he doesn't forget to remind them, that they have to respect me accordingly. And respecting me accordingly means in this case 'fearing me', of course, but I doubt he realizes that.  
After class I experience the pleasure of being treated like a contagious disease. Why can't they simply ignore me? No crowding around me, no running away from me? Suddenly I feel really lonely. I'm not a very social person, but I don't fare well without any interactions as well. I start to wander around. Should I go to him?  
Like the player did? Blue magic envelopes me and I look up to see his door. I raise my hand towards the lion doorknocker, but hesitate.  
I can't lie to myself anymore, I have a crush on him. But that doesn't mean, that I have to pursue a relationship with him. However, I could need some comforting and my roommates seem to be unable to give me that right now. Ellen has some strange image of me now and Virginia is insensitive by nature.  
I take a deep breath and knock on the door. "What is your issue for coming here?", asks me the lion doorknocker as usual. "Uh… seeking advice?", I reply.  
I won't say, that I'm actually seeking comfort. "What is it?", he asks from inside. Was he also bothered, or why doesn't he open the door?  
"It's Elise. May I talk to you?", I answer him politely. The door swings open. "Very well. Come in." I step inside and close the door behind me.  
Looks like he was sitting at his desk a minute ago and writing something, the ink is still open. Yes, he uses a quill. "I... May I sit down?", I gesture to the couch. Standing here is so awkward. He nods and I sit down, while he seats himself in the armchair. I start to fidget a bit, avoiding his gaze. Oh great.  
What's wrong with me? Where is my usual calm? "Once again, I must apologize for my rough treatment of you yesterday." I finally manage to glance at him.  
He seems to avoid my look as well. At least I'm not the only one. "You deserved more respect. Not only as my wife, but as a person who has so far demonstrated integrity. You should know, that it was a hollow threat." Was it really so hollow? I'm pretty sure there was this end, where the player would be confined in the dungeons until the divorce. "I would never banish a student to such a fate, merely for causing me embarrassment." But you would do it, if the student would collect enough demerits. Though that is at least more reasonable. "I see.", I reply in a neutral voice. "Is there something else you need?", he asks me.  
Am I already annoying him? He doesn't seem annoyed though. "Ah, I… it's just… I don't know how to bear with their treatment of me…", I confess. "Pardon?"  
"I could bear keeping the secret, I keep a lot of secrets from my parents already after all, but now, since everyone knows about this… I'm the 'teacher's wife' now, even after our divorce, I will still keep this label. And since the teacher is scary, so am I, everyone is afraid of me now. Not to mention, that many seem to think of me as 'used goods' now…", I complain. "You may find that the members of the magical community are more understanding of unusual lifestyles than you imagine."  
I feel, like I know what you mean, when I think about Potsdam and her marriages. But not being considered a virgin anymore, isn't really what bothered me…  
"I don't know how to deal with the abandonment. Even my roommates act weirdly towards me now. I can't bear the loneliness.", I explain to him the reason for my depression. "… I can't imagine." Of course, he is used to loneliness. I sigh. Why did I come here anyways? To cry like a baby?  
"I'm sorry for bothering you with this. I guess, I just needed to talk to someone, who won't run away from me on sight. I'm just not used to being disliked by everyone." I avoid his gaze. "I. I don't dislike you.", he tries to comfort me. I look to him, but I can feel my cheeks getting warm, so I turn away again, before he notices. "You have many admirable qualities. You are a spirited young woman with a healthy curiosity, that you are learning to temper with wisdom. You are generous and brave. You are an intelligent and diligent student." I… I don't know how to deal with compliments. I'm bad with them. I fidget around a bit.  
"Of course, you are also a young woman, and you prefer the company of your kind.", he adds. He sounds a bit… somber, doesn't he?  
"I also enjoy your company though, otherwise I wouldn't be here now.", I remark. "Oh." He seems surprised. "May I visit you again?", I dare to ask him after a minute of silence. "I am very busy with preparations for the final exam. Perhaps… some time over the weekend would be acceptable." Mission complete!  
"Thank you." "Oh, and about the Glen? Come to my room on Thursday at 7 pm. Unless you already have other plans?" I shake my head.  
"Good day to you, Elise." I bid him goodbye and head back to my room.  
He really sucks at comforting, but somehow I feel lighter now anyways.

The next day, Minnie approaches me, to apologize for leaking our secret and thank me for helping her Kyo. In the evening is the first storm in April – and that means we have to do the Thunder Call. Good thing, Hieronymus scheduled the dinner for Thursday and not Wednesday, otherwise we would've to reschedule.  
I dutifully wake everyone up, and we head to the gym, where we dance as loudly and wildly as we can. It's really tiring, but I can let some steam off this way, without gaining weird points. And the fire dance was really pretty, but I'm a bit tired the next day.  
People are still avoiding me, but I barely notice it, since I'm full of anticipation for the evening. I'll have a date with him, at the Glen! Well, it's not a date-date, but an apology-date, of course, however that doesn't matter. What matters is, that I will be dining at the Glen again. With my husband this time. Just the two of us.  
Sure, his entertainment skills pale to Potsdam's, and even Damien would be a better conversation partner, despite his possessiveness and everything, but I do enjoy his company for some reason. And with some reason, I mean my crush on him, which is nothing more than a stupid teenager-crush.  
I teleport myself to his doorstep at the appointed time and knock on his door. The lion doorknocker asks his usual question and I answer, "I have an appointment." The door swings open, and I step inside. I don't really understand the door enchantment, why does the door open itself sometimes, and other times Hieronymus has to open it? "Good evening, Hieronymus.", I greet him, while I close the door behind me. "Good evening, Elise.", he answers while looking up from his desk.  
He has been working until now? "You're not in your robes.", he observes. Why would I? There is no need to wear the uniform, when leaving the campus, which is why I'm wearing black jeans and a white blouse. I did my hair into a bun and wear some black pumps. It's an extremely simple outfit, elegant enough for dinner, but not overdressed, since he wouldn't appreciate it, if I would make too much effort in looking pretty. It probably would make things awkward for him.  
"Is that a problem?", I ask him, after re-inspecting my outfit. Is it weird or something? Did I make a mistake? I'm not good with fashion. "No. Let's go."  
He approaches me and takes my arm to teleport us to the subfloor parking lot. I follow him towards a black Bentley (not one of the vans?), and we drive to the mall parking lot. I don't bother to try small talk and only hum an Irish rock song quietly. We get seated at a corner table again. I take a look at the menu-scroll.  
Yup, I still can't read more than half of it. "You may ask me for advice, if you have problems choosing.", Grabiner remarks, after noticing my conflicted expression.  
I look up to him. "I want something I didn't have before. I had the taste-changing jelly, the salmon crepes, giggle salad…", I begin to describe to him all the dishes I had before. "… so I would like anything besides these dishes. Something preferable magical or weird." A small smile appears on his lips.  
"I see. I will order the dishes for you." I thank him politely. After ordering, we wait in silence for the first dish to arrive. It's the awkward kind of silence…  
"Ah, I informed myself a bit about 'deconstructivism', like you suggested. It was not to my taste, as you can imagine, but it's interesting nonetheless."  
Is he actually trying to converse with me? How unusual. "Yeah, I thought so. I think of the buildings more as 'interesting' than as 'pretty' as well. Like upside down houses.", I answer him. "Upside down houses?" "Yeah, some houses were built in a way, that they look as if they were build upside down. It looks funny, but I wouldn't want to live in it." "Are you interested in architecture?", he asks me. "Interested, but not well-versed. And right now, I'd like to concentrate on learning about magic instead.", I answer him honestly. "I see. Well, you should concentrate on your studies for now anyways. You seem to be quite good at green magic, so you should have more than enough time to learn other things as well."  
In this moment, our first dishes arrive. I stare at my dish. It's some kind of bluish-clear soup with lemon-like fruits. I take my spoon and carefully test the taste.  
It tastes a bit sour, but very refreshing. Hieronymus chuckles a bit at my wary behavior. He got himself the salmon crepes I had last time. The soup tastes very good, but… isn't it a bit cold in here? I'm starting to get goosebumps. Hieronymus seems to notice this, he cast a warm breeze for me. How thoughtful.  
"It's a side-effect of the soup. The ice-fruits have a cooling effect, which is why this soup is mainly consumed in summer. They serve it the whole year however, since it's the favourite dish of snow faeries.", he explains to me. Magical! "Awesome.", I whisper. I really like the lemon-like taste.  
The next dish looks like breaded flounder with cucumber relish and roast potatoes for me and steak with Otherworld vegetables for him. Doesn't look very weird?  
I start eating. It's yummy, but it doesn't taste odd? I look at Hieronymus. "What is special about this dish?", I curiously ask him. He looks up from his dish and gives me a small smile. "Wait a bit, then look at the table behind me." Confused, I follow his command. "Oh.", I exclaim. Things, which are near to me, appear as sharp as ever, however if I look into the distance, I'm able to see details, I couldn't see before, for example the stitch muster of the dress of the harpy-like woman, sitting at the other corner of the room. So this fish improves my eyesight? "Interesting.", I compliment his choice. "How long will this effect last?" He shrugs. "Only for a few minutes."  
I continue to silently eat. The silence persists, while we wait for the last dish, before the complimentary dessert.  
"May I ask you a question about the magical world?", I break the silence. "What is it?" I was a bit afraid, that he would be annoyed at me for trying to talk to him, but if he is indeed annoyed, he doesn't show it. "What kind of jobs do wizards do?" He raises an eyebrow at my question. "You don't need to think about that, you're still a freshman." I roll my eyes. "I don't ask, because I want decide on one. I'm simply curious." He clears his throat. "I see. Well, skilled black magicians can earn their living by crafting and enchanting various things, for example jewelry, clothes, potions, even buildings are sometimes created using black magic. For enchanting, you also need sufficient skills in other magic colors, of course. Then there are cleaners, who simply get rid of enchantments and other traces of magic. White magicians can work as memory collectors, wiping the memories of the mundane, who got in contact with the magical world. Or they can work as spirit mediator, getting rid of poltergeists, or mediating with friendlier spirits. Diplomacy is very important for our society, since we live together with various more or less sentient, non-human creatures. Some blue magicians work as decorators and sell their illusions, mostly to restaurants and similar places, since they don't last too long. Other blue magicians work as maskers, creating cloaks for the mundane world. There is also a mail service, run by blue magicians, who use teleportation for transport. Green mages work often as healers or farmers. There are many more jobs, some similar to the mundane world: judges, law enforcers, politicians, historians, cooks, authors, magical researchers… However, whatever you decide to do in the future, having fundamental skills in all magical colors, is essential."  
The last 'dish' arrives, two cups of some milk tea for the both of us. I take sip. Tastes sweet, with a hint of cinnamon and chocolate.  
"What kind of tea is this?", I ask Hieronymus. "It's called 'Lucky Dream Tea'. It's supposed to give nice dreams.", he explains to me. "Does it really work?", I ask curiously. So magical! "Not always, but most of the time. It won't keep all nightmares away, but your dreams will definitely be more pleasant, than without it."  
That is so awesome! I take another sip, quietly enjoying my magical dream tea. "Thank you very much for this evening, Hieronymus.", I thank him with a smile.  
He returns my smile lightly. And I take another sip, to hide my slight blush. It's not easy, living in the body of a sixteen years old…  
Our complimentary desserts arrive, and I pop one of the strawberries in my mouth. Soo refreshing! He pays the bill and we head back to the academy.  
I hope the dinner wasn't too expensive, I didn't expect to get to eat so many dishes…


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31: Teatime!

* * *

I bid him goodbye in the parking lot, not without thanking him again for the evening, and teleport myself back into my dorm room.  
"Where were you?", Virginia questions me, as soon as I arrive. I look at the clock. It's close to 9 o clock, curfew starts at 10 pm. "On an apology-date with my husband-in-name-only.", I reply. "Apology date? What's that? You sure he is your husband in name only?", Virginia teases me. "He treated me unreasonable, when he thought that I would've been the one to disclose our secret. And if any of you gossips to anyone about that, I will make sure, that you will regret it. They already have enough to gossip about. And yes, in name only, I'm just a student in his eyes, maybe a diligent student, but nothing more. In terms of attractiveness, I'm probably comparable to a _potato_ in his point of view.", I counter. Virginia giggles. "A potato? What's up with that comparison?" "We won't gossip, don't worry.", Ellen assures me.  
But I still feel a bit unsure, Virginia loves to gossip after all, you know? Well, if news gets out, I know who to blame, I guess. Though that's not true, unlike a certain someone, I'm well aware, that there a different ways secrets can get out. "Oh yeah, how was your 'apology date'?", Virginia starts to interrogate.  
"It was awesome, first I got some blue soup, which tastes like citrons and made me shiver from cold, and then…", I start to tell her about all the dishes that I ate.  
"What's not what I meant…", Virginia interrupts me disappointed. "Tell us more about your husband!", she complains.  
"This is just like the time, when you went on a date with Damien.", Ellen comments with a weak smile. She seems so distant lately… "In what way?", I ask her confused. "You just talk about food, while Virginia worries about the person. Only that she was fuming that time, because of Damien, while she is now simply curious, because of… your husband.", Ellen explains to me. She seems having difficulties with calling Hieronymus 'your husband'. According to my game knowledge, she doesn't know how to deal with the whole ordeal yet. Though she took part in our conversation, she is avoiding me most of the time and treats me more like… a stranger.  
We continued talking for a bit, but the distance I felt from Ellen wouldn't lessen. At least Virginia starts to treat me normal again.  
Ah, thinking about my roommates, I need to talk to them, before our exams! I don't want Virginia to accidently force me to confess my feelings for him. I should give them some more time to come to terms with the situation though, trying to have a deep conversation with Ellen now, would definitely result in failure.

The night I slept really well, but I forgot my dream as soon as I woke up. It's a pity, since it was a nice dream. But now I'm back to reality…. After our secret got leaked, I avoided Grabiner's classes, since I wasn't able to concentrate in them. The students were too afraid of him, to say anything since his announcement, however the weird glances would dramatically increase, as soon as I was anywhere close to him. And with close, I mean like in the same room, or in the halls about two to three classrooms away from each other. In addition to the glances, silence would insure, which leads to me becoming overly-conscious of every single action of mine.  
And I hate it, if I become overly-selfconscious. It's so annoying.

Now it's finally Saturday and I have already finished my treasurer duties. Grabiner didn't come by today. I wonder if he can predict when he'll get mail, or something, since he only turned up, when there were letters for him. I decide to visit him later, since he allowed me to do so. The player brought tea and biscuits or something with her, when visiting him, and I also plan to do so. It's a nice gesture, besides with tea and biscuits, silence won't feel as awkward as it would without.  
Since I've already been to the kitchen to fetch the soup for Hieronymus, when he was sick, I have no problems finding it.  
However, that time, the soup was already prepared and ready to deliver. I look around the kitchen. No one in sight. The kitchen staff is so mysterious!  
Maybe they're ghosts, or something? I consider simply preparing the tea myself, but I don't want to touch the kitchen ware without permission.  
"Excuse me? Is someone here? I want to deliver some refreshments to Professor Grabiner's room…", I nervously ask. I'm crazy for trying this, right? There is no way the kitchen staff is actually invisible after all. I feel like an idiot.  
"What kind of refreshments have you been thinking of, Miss?", a high-pitched voice suddenly asks me. What? Someone is really here? I look around, but I still can't see anyone. "Where are you? Are you invisible?", I ask perplexed. I hear some giggling. "No, but I'm hidden. We prefer not to be seen. So what kind of refreshments do you need?", the voice asks me again. "Some Earl Grey tea and some biscuits. But I can prepare that myself, I don't want to bother you.", I answer, unsure where to direct my gaze. "No, we will do that, it's our duty. Miss doesn't need to worry.", e answers me. "Oh, ok, thanks. Then shall I leave for now? Since you don't want to be seen? How long will it take? I don't want to disturb you, before you're finished…" More giggling. O-kay. This is starting to creep me out a bit.  
"Miss is very thoughtful. 5 minutes will be enough." I thank em and leave the kitchen. I use the canteen clock, to determine when the 5 minutes are over, and head back in. On the counter close to the door lies a tray with the tea, two tea cups, and some biscuits. "Ah, thanks for your work.", I thank the kitchen staff again, take the tray and leave.

I walk towards my husband's rooms, ignoring the curious glances of the few students I encounter. I would teleport, but I would spill the tea. My teleportation landings are still a bit clumsy sometimes and I often stumble a bit. I place the tablet on the side table, like last time and knock on his door. "Refreshment delivery.", I answer the lion. This time I have to wait again, before Hieronymus opens the door. "Hi, I brought refreshments for you. May I come in?", I greet him. He steps to the side and motions me to come inside. After I step inside, he closes the door behind me. "Thank you. It's very kind of you." I smile at him. "Ah, you can place the tray on the coffee table. Wait a moment, I'll make room for it." He heads to the couch and takes away some books from the table in front. I carefully place down the tray and sit down on the couch with him. I then proceed to pour him some tea. "As your wife, it's only natural for me to offer you my kindness.", I tease him.  
"So you are only doing this, because you feel forced to?", he asks me. His tone of voice also sounds teasing. "No, this is just an excuse to spend some time together.", I counter, while also pouring myself a cup. "Kindness and courage.", he replies with a chuckle, and I can't help but smile like an idiot. I use my cup to quickly hide it. Hmm, smells good. "You've certainly shown that, walking into the lion's den.", he adds a bit more seriously. I chuckle. "I'm not afraid of you."  
He wouldn't harm me, after all. Even if we were to divorce. Unless I were to do something unforgivable of course, like attacking other students.  
"Many would disagree.", he sarcastically remarks. I just smile at that. "So tell me, Elise. Why do you think I go out of my way to terrify students?", he asks me with a pensive look. "Out of protectiveness. You're trying to protect the students.", I answer. "That is my goal. Magic opens up a world of possibilities- but even the most beautiful can be deadly. It is very easy to make a mistake, particularly for those like yourself, wild seed, raised in ignorance. One slip, and you will flare up and blow out like a candle. But once put out, thy light, I cannot give it vital growth again. The council sets arcane rules, and I terrorize the sheep into following them. Those who fail are culled – not their lives, but their power. We have an excellent record for keeping students alive. And so, only the obedient shall pass.", he explains sternly.  
"And so everyone is afraid of you. It's probably not an easy task to play the bad guy the whole time.", I comment. "Not everyone is afraid of me.", he hints. I smile. "No, I'm not afraid of you. Since I know, that you don't mean harm." "But you were meant to be, earlier this week. I believed you had make a joke of me, that you had lost all respect for authority and for the promise you had made. That you were… out of control. And there was nothing I could do to punish you. The only tool that I had left to control you was fear. And so I tried to frighten you to the best of my abilities.", he replies. "But you didn't manage to frighten me."  
"And thus even this tool must be set aside.", he concludes. "What I had said weren't completely hollow threats. If you were to engage in behavior sufficient to cause expulsion under normal circumstances, we would have to investigate extreme measures to deal with the situation. As my wife, you cannot be properly expelled, but neither could you continue as a student in gross violation of the rules. But despite the suggestions I made earlier, speaking out of turn about a Professor is not cause for expulsion.", he continues his explanation. "I already understood that part of you, otherwise I might not have forgiven you so easily. But please tell me more about you. I'm curious.", I answer him, smiling again. "Excuse me?" "What are your interests?", I question him. "You wish to discuss my hobbies."  
Chamber music, reading and drinking wine. But it's creepy, that I know that without him telling me, so I nod. "I do not have fun." "You do relax from time to time, don't you?", I counter. "I am fond of chamber music. I enjoy wine. … which you are far too young to have appreciated." There is this one Lambrusco I really liked. I never drank a lot of alcohol, as I already mentioned, but there were a few wine sorts I liked to drink. "Well, then it comes to classical music, I prefer big orchestras over chamber music. And about the wine… I can still try it in the future? Maybe I'll like it. Maybe I won't." I don't know what wine I will try with him, so it may or may not be to my taste. "Do you like sushi?", I counter-ask him. "Sushi? I haven't tried it. And I'm not interested in trying raw fish." I sigh. "Sushi doesn't need to be made with raw fish, you know? You can make it even without any fish at all… There are various kinds of vegetarian sushi, or sushi with chicken… Well, if you make sushi with fish yourself, you would use smoked salmon, instead of raw fish." "I see. …you really like food, don't you?", he remarks with a chuckle. Pardon me? "I really like _good_ food. Quality over quantity. And I like trying out new things.", I explain to him. "And you like weird things.", he adds. Can't argue with that. "Well… weird means interesting, right? Normal is less entertaining.", I defend myself. "You have a point.", he admits with a light smile. Talking to him is so nice…  
"So what are your other interests?", he asks me. Ah, why am I so happy over his question? "Reading, sport, music, the arts… I'm interested in a lot of things."  
I stay silent for a moment. "Can you dance?" He raises an eyebrow at me. "I'm NOT going to the May Dance with you.", he immediately refuses. I chuckle.  
"Of course, I already figured that. But I want to know, whether you could dance a waltz nonetheless." "I could. Ballroom dancing was part of my… education.", he replies hesitatingly. It wouldn't do for a noble, to be unable to dance, I guess. "Do you hate dancing?", I probe further. "No, unless it's in front of students or to modern music." I immediately imagine him dancing to techno… So funny! I chuckle. "I can't imagine you dancing to 'modern' music either.", I tease him.  
"Oh? If you can't imagine it, then why are you chuckling?", he counters. "Ah, touché. You got me.", I confess. I hide my smile, behind another sip.  
"I'd like to inform you, that I may not enjoy dancing to modern music, but I'm skilled at doing the robot nonetheless."  
I choke on my tea and start coughing, while giggling madly. Who said, that Grabiner had no humor? His humor is awesome! And I personally like his dry way of joking, it adds to the surprise. I slowly compose myself again. Sigh, now I embarrassed myself in front of him. I set my cup down and look at him. He grins a bit, but just a little. Others would probably not notice. A moment later, his expression is back to his usual poker face. "And you? Can you dance?", he asks me.  
I attended a basic dance course, like the majority of my classmates, in my last life. We learned the basic steps and some basic moves for disco fox, waltz, rumba and a few others. "I can dance a little. It should be enough for the May Dance. Especially since I'm not leading as a woman." I'd like to stay for some more time, but I don't want to impose too much on him. "Well then, I will take my leave now. It was pleasant talking to you, Hieronymus."  
We bid goodbye, and I spend the rest of the day mostly in my room, studying a bit and drawing random stuff.  
I don't want to go to the library, since I'm still bothered by the weird glances, though they lessened a bit already.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32: Abduction

* * *

I start the next day in the same fashion, but I can't stand being in my room the whole time, so I head out. While I wander the gardens, a snake girl approaches me. "Hi, Elise. I … Can we talk?", she greets me. She seems nervous. "Why do you want to talk to me?", I ask her warily. I don't know her, what could she want from me? She isn't even a freshman; she must be a Sophomore or a Junior. She has brown hair, styled into twin buns, which are dyed green. Does her hair look weirder or less weird, if it isn't done into twin buns? "I need advice from you.", she explains. Ok, why me though? "Why would you come to me for that?", I probe further.  
"Due to your… unique situation, you're the only one I can turn to.", she explains to me. I see… Sounds serious.  
It's not my business, but since she personally came to me, I shouldn't turn her down. "Alright, I will listen to you. I don't know whether I can help you or not, but I won't gossip.", I agree to her request. "Not here. There are too many around. Follow me." She seems really nervous. This must be about something important.  
I follow her, to the backside of a building. Usually, no one would come here, so it's a safe place to exchange secrets. "So what is it?", I ask her a bit curious.  
"Ok, you need to listen, please." That's what I planned to do? "I will.", I assure her. "No, that's not what I… Please just listen to him!"  
I don't like, where this is going? I take a step back. "He wants to talk to you, in order to solve the misunderstandings between you."  
I REALLY don't like, where this is going. I start using white magic, in order to search for the spirit of my husband, careful not to show her, that I'm casting it.  
He should be in his room, right? "So, uh, forgive me, ok?" And with that, she suddenly casts Push, pushing me against the wall behind me. I tried to dodge it, but it was no use. I try to move back from the wall and run for it, but something holds me back. I look down… ivy! I can see blue magic, slowly starting to engulf me. Hieronymus! He can save me! I start looking for his spirit again… There it is! "Hieron-!", I manage to communicate, before the connection breaks off, and I'm teleported away.

The scenery of the buildings backyards warps and suddenly I'm standing in a forest, close to a lake. Where am I? Is it too far to teleport myself back? She needed some time to teleport me after all… Otherwise that girl wouldn't have needed to set up a trap, to hinder my movements. I should've casted Detect Enchantment or something, before following her to that abandoned place. "Hi, Elise. I wanted to see you for quite some time." I turn around and face Damien.  
"I've missed you.", he informs me with a wink. "Pity, I didn't miss you.", I answer dryly. Maybe not very clever of me, given my situation…  
"Still playing the ice-queen?", he teases me with a smirk. "What do you plan to do, by abducting me? Do you think spending some time together, would magically make me love you?", I interrogate him sarcastically. "Well, it seems to work for him.", he snaps at me. I take a step back, in fright. I shouldn't anger him too much,  
who knows what he might do? Damien's expression changes to a sad one. "Look, I'm… I'm sorry, ok? For snapping at you. It's just… I guess I'm jealous, since you spend so much time together.", he apologizes to me. "Why am I here, Damien?", I ask him as calm as possible. "Because I wanted to talk to you. I'm not… I'm not abducting you, ok? I will teleport you back, if you wish so, but not after you heard me out, ok? I know I'm selfish, for forcing you to listen to me, but please give me a chance?" He still looks so depressed… Well, not like I have a choice? I sigh. "What did you want to talk to me about?"  
His expression lightens up a bit, but he still seems sad. "You never believed me, when I told you, that I love you, right? I don't blame you, considering my past…  
I simply want you to understand, that my feelings for you are sincere!" I don't believe him. He is a master at manipulation, after all.  
Not a single word from his lips can't be trusted, no matter how true it seems. If the sky were blue, and he were to say, that the sky would be blue, then… I would assume, that he's trying to distract me from something.  
"Are you even capable of loving something besides power? You don't trust people, Damien. And that's why you can't be trusted. You wouldn't trust me- and you have no reason to do so, - but even if you COULD trust me, you wouldn't. So how could these feelings of yours, whatever they may be, be trusted?", I calmly counter.  
He looks at me shocked… and a bit hurt. "That's not true! I… I trust you Elise. Even though I know, that you don't reciprocate my feelings. You wouldn't hurt me,  
unless I would attack you. And power… I don't need power, if I can have you!" I… I'm not sure what to think of this?  
"Go on. Attack me. I won't fight back. I deserve you scorn, thinking about my reason for approaching you in the past.", he sorrowfully request of me, while closing his eyes and opening his arms in a welcoming gesture. Is… is this my chance to escape? I raise my arms, but let them down again. No. This would be too easy.  
Besides, he … is right more or less, I can't injure him, if he won't attack me. I blame my soft heart. I stay silent and observe him.  
He opens his eyes after a minute and gives me a small smile, his eyes still filled with sorrow. "See? I knew you wouldn't. The others, they act as if they care, but they don't. You on the other hand… you act as if you wouldn't care, but you do. You're not stupid, you know, that some people will only try to harm you, but if someone asks for your help, you will give it to em. And you don't judge people. Even if they're… me. You understand, that I have my reasons for being… me."  
This sounds like an exaggeration of me. I'm not such a great person. But I'm more and more confused. He seems so… sincere. He wouldn't be, right?  
No, he wouldn't be able to honestly open up to me, even if I we were mutually in love, he would still try to manipulate me, right? This seems to be part of his character after all, I don't think he could stop doing that so easily. "But I'm tired of being me. I want to change. I don't want to manipulate everyone around me, but…  
I don't know how?" He laughs sarcastically, "I even manipulated a past toy of mine to get you here. I guess, I'm really hopeless." He stops his cheerless laugh and looks me directly in the eyes. "Please help me become a 'decent person', Elise. I don't deserve your affections, I know that. But I know no one else, who could help me. I don't want to do mean things anymore, Elise. I want to become a person worthy of you.", he pleads. Everything about him seems so … desperate, right now.  
Is he telling the truth? Is he telling a lie? Is he telling both? "The gym incident. With Myreen. Why would you do that, if you don't care about power anymore?", I ask him skeptically. He drops his head in shame and avoids my eyes, while answering me, "You won't believe me, but… I did it for you. At least, that's what I told myself.  
I wanted to protect you. I felt so powerless, then I discovered, that you were forced to marry… _him_. And then I came across Myreen, who was badmouthing you…  
I only planned to break her heart as revenge for you initially. However, my wish to become stronger for you grew. And I persuaded myself, that you wouldn't mind me hurting her, that you would want me to be more powerful as well, that you… would like me, if I would be strong enough to protect you, and powerful enough to let you live like a princess. I couldn't save you from whatever forced you to marry him, but I want to be there for you in the future nonetheless." He sighs.  
"It was stupid of me, I know that now. Due to this, I couldn't see you anymore. Furthermore, I realized, that you wouldn't like me more, just because I became more capable of keeping you safe. It was very selfish of me, wasn't it? I should've considered your actual wishes more, instead of lying to myself, that your wishes would coincide with mine." His expression darkens, before he continues, "Yes, I wanted more magical power. And I fulfilled that goal partially, however…"  
He changes back to a somber expression. "… as I realized, that I couldn't see you anymore… and that you may not forgive me for hurting Myreen, even though you don't like her…" His voice breaks off and he avoids my gaze. "I'm sorry. Please forgive me, Elise.", he says to me, after composing himself.  
I… don't know how to react to that. For some reason, his confession really moves me, but… can it even be trusted? I stay silent, because I'm too confused.  
He suddenly takes my hand and looks me pleadingly in the eyes. "Please don't hate me, Elise…", he begs. "I,… I don't _hate_ you, Damien.", I give in. He looks down and takes a deep breath, before softly letting go of my hand. "Thank you.", he replies, sounding relieved. "Elise… will you please stay with me?", he suddenly asks me. "What? But I'm still a freshman! I still need to go to school.", I decline. …shouldn't my first argument be about my non-existent feelings?  
Though my education is an at least equally important reason to decline. "Don't worry about that. I can arrange teachers for you. I will take care of everything for you.", he tries to persuade me. "But… I'm married!", I remind him. "We can deal with that, then the time comes. There are ways to divorce without meeting, however it's a bit… more complex. Until then… I won't touch you.", he responds calmly. "And if I don't want to?", I ask him. He looks hurt, but smiles at me nonetheless.  
"Then I will get you back to the academy. If you really don't want to…", he answers, looking a bit distressed. "I won't force you, to come with me. But please don't leave me, Elise. You're the only person, who matters to me.", he pleads to me, while grabbing both of my hands.  
"I… I'm sorry, Damien. But I don't love you. Please let me return to the academy.", I reject his offer again. He looks so sad, that it tears my way too soft heart, but it's the truth, that I don't love him. Giving him false hope would be more cruel. Besides, I don't want to leave the academy.

"I see. If that is your last decision, then… I will comply.", he replies sadly. He then points at two flying orbs behind him. I haven't noticed them before.  
"One is enchanted to teleport you back to the academy. The other will teleport you to my hideout. After teleporting, the orbs chatter, to hide my trails. I will use the right one, if you don't change your mind, and really want to return, you have to use the left one.", he explains to me. "I see." I step towards the left orb.  
'Elise!'. I stop. Did someone call me? "You should hurry. They probably miss you already.", Damien encourages me, while smiling sadly at me.  
Something doesn't feel right… 'Stay where you are!' – That's Hieronymus! He found me? Already?  
Damien clicks his tongue. "You're not going to touch the orb, are you?", Damien comments frowning. ... I see, so it was a trap of some sort.  
Why did I trust him for a moment? I turn to Damien and take a step back. His sad-puppy-look changed to an arrogant, annoyed expression. The hell?!  
You're too good at acting! His hand twitches and I barely manage to dodge the orb, by jumping to the side. Time to run!  
While sidestepping from time to time, in order to evade the orb, which started hunting me, I cast Darkness, thereby making it difficult for Damien to aim at me. In addition I avoid placing me in the middle of the cloud of darkness. Bang! I can hear something explode far behind me. What happened? I stop to look back, but the darkness still engulfs me. The orb stopped following me, I haven't even noticed in my panic. I dispel the darkness, but before I can see what happened, my vision darkens by two hands, placed over my eyes. I tense up.  
"Believe me, it's better if you don't see anything, cupcake." I calm down at hearing Potsdam's voice. I'm safe. I try to regulate my breathing, while placing a hand against my hip. I'm totally out of breath and have a stitch, from suddenly sprinting without any warm up. Potsdam continues to cover my eyes, while I can hear her casting some unknown spell to me. There are various ways to cast a spell. You can use incantation, hand movements, partly even your whole body, or do it without any of that. The incantations and movements aid the casting, casting it without them is more difficult and requires more concentration. When I casted the Communication-spell, looking for Hieronymus' spirit, I used only minimal hand-gestures, in order to hide my casting, causing me to be a bit mentally drained.  
White magic is not my forte after all. I'm still far from being mentally-drained though.  
"That's enough, Hieronymus. The authorities will deal with the rest.", Potsdam suddenly shouts. She uncovers my eyes and teleports us to his side.

My stalker hangs in the air, unable to move, in front of my husband. Damien looks a bit… burnt and he has a deep cut in his right wing and smaller cuts all over his body. Blood is dripping down his feet. Apart from that, he's fuming with rage. And Hieronymus… he seems to be unhurt, but he's equally enraged.  
"Why did you bring her here with you, Petunia?", he snaps at her, while glaring at me. Uh oh, I'm in trouble. He's probably angry at me for being tricked by that snake girl. "I'm, I'm sorry...", I stutter. Damien snorts. "Some husband you are… is that the right way to talk to your wife?", he hisses at my husband.  
"Stay out of it, stalker-boy.", he counters with an equally aggressive tone of voice. "I would never treat you like that, Elise. Why do you put up with him?", Damien turns to me, suddenly looking pitiful. "What are you talking about? He treats me with more respect than you. You don't care about my decisions, or my wishes at all! What kind of enchantment was on that orb? It definitely wasn't a Teleportation-spell back to Iris Academy!", I snap at him.  
"It was just a small Sleep-spell!", he defends himself. "You're the worst.", I dryly comment. Just a sleep-spell? The hell?! Damien looks at me in shock.  
He then turns away, refusing to look at me. "That's it. I give up.", he says while clenching his teeth. "The worst indeed." Hieronymus points at his chest.  
I look quizzically at my husband. Damien simply continues looking to the side, ignoring us. Hieronymus snorts and rips an amulet from Damien's chest using red magic, which was hidden beneath his robes. The amulet dangles now in front of Hieronymus' eyes and he inspects it, without touching it.  
"'Charm of the Incubus', a popularity charm, Mr. Ramsay?", Hieronymus mocks him. Popularity charm? Is that the reason I sympathized with Damien so much against my will? Well, a part of me still pities him. He is so good at seducing people and yet he sucks so much at actually loving them. But I'm not a heroine. I won't forgive him, nor will I try to help him become a decent person. It's hopeless and I know that.  
"It's well-made. Must have been expensive.", Hieronymus comments, while crushing the amulet with red magic. I turn to Potsdam, who has been watching our conversation silently, "So, uh… what now?", I ask her. "Someone will fetch Mr. Ramsay and the authorities will deal with him. He has tried to take the life of a witch and abduct another after all. You probably will never see him again, Dear.", she explains to me. I feel less tense after hearing that.

Soon a stern looking woman appears, with black hair, which turns fiery-red at the hair-ends. She wears black jeans and a black top, exposing her belly.  
"I will take over now, thank you for capturing the culprit." With a wink of her hands, Damien falls unconscious and she teleports away with him.  
"Well then, good job everyone. I will return to the academy first, so you can reunite with your wife, Hieronymus.", Potsdam bids us goodbye and then also teleports away, before I can stop her. I sigh and turn to face my husband. He will scold me a lot, won't he. Hieronymus looks at me sternly.  
"Explain yourself.", he commands me. I start to fidget and don't dare to look at him directly. "So there was this snake girl, who wanted to talk to me… I didn't know her, so I was suspicious, but she said she would need my advice and uh…",I begin and continue summarizing what had happened, until he arrived to save me.  
"I'm sorry for walking into another trap.", I conclude my summary. Hieronymus stays silent and I finally glance at him. "Ten demerits for carelessness.", he informs me. "Now, please come here, so that I can teleport us back." I step towards him, but trip over something and fall against his chest.  
"… Elise. PLEASE be more careful.", he scolds me, but he doesn't sound angry anymore. He sounds tired instead. I mumble an apology and reluctantly try to move away from him, but he puts an arm around me and raises his other hand to cast Teleportation-spell. However, his hand doesn't start moving.  
"Good job resisting the popularity charm.", he suddenly praises me with a neutral tone of voice.  
I glance at him, but turn my face back to his chest, to hide my idiotic smile. The blue magic envelopes us, and we suddenly stand in front of his room.  
He immediately steps away from me. "Good day to you, Elise." I thank him for coming to my help, before I also bid him goodbye.  
Hieronymus instantly disappears into his room, after I have finished speaking. I stare at his door with a sigh.  
I would've liked to spend more time with him…


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33: Flowers for the May Dance

* * *

I head back to my room and slump down on my bed. Ellen is probably studying, and Virginia is probably in the gym, so I'm alone here. It's stupid, but I can't stop thinking about Hieronymus and how he held me while teleporting me back. Shouldn't I worry more about being tricked by a fellow student?  
Or think about what may happen to Damien, now that he has been caught? Since he finally gave up on me, I should feel more relieved and less…  
embarrassed, joyous, flustered, jubilant, yearning, love-struck. Geez, it wasn't even a full hug! How could that small amount of body contact stir me up so much?  
I mean, it's not like I'm a virgin… though technically I am right now, but not… mentally?

The next day I approached Potsdam after green magic class, in order to ask her about that student, who tricked me. It's not like she intended harm, since she thought, that Damien just wanted to clear up some misunderstanding, but she should still get punished, right? She trapped me and teleported me against my will away from the academy after all. "Don't worry, cupcake. Hieronymus already informed me about Miss Melia's contribution in your abduction. He even wanted to expel her,  
but I convinced him, that detention and demerits would suffice, since she didn't intend to harm you." I see. That's good, I guess.  
"Ah, I have another request!", I exclaim. I nearly forgot about it… "I'd like to sell bouquets in the mall on Saturday as fundraiser for the May Dance, but I don't think I'd be able to grow enough on my own. Also, I haven't bought the seeds yet…" Potsdam smiles at me. "Oh, I know just the right person, to drive you to the nearest home improvement center. And we can use the seeds as practice in my next green magic classes, there are still many students, who need to learn that spell."  
Nice, with this we should be able to raise enough funds. I don't know how well the bouquets will sale, but I will make flower wristbands and brooches out of the leftovers and sell them for the May Dance.

After my next black class, Potsdam informed me, that Hieronymus will drive me after the last afternoon class and that I should meet up with him at his room.  
As expected of Potsdam. I bought a variety of flower seeds, florist's wire, wax in form of a lot of simple white candles, paper for packaging the flowers and ribbons in different colours. I even managed to order some tulip bulbs, which will arrive on Wednesday. Tulips are planted in autumn and blossom in spring, so it's the right time to sell them and I really like tulips, so I didn't want to miss out on them. I'm sure they will sell well. Unfortunately, I had to borrow money from Grabiner, since my own money wasn't enough. Shame on me, but I didn't have much money left after buying a dress for the May Dance.  
After classes on Wednesday, I go to the post office to collect the tulip packets and head towards the empty patch Potsdam has showed me, to plant the tulips and speed up their growth. It takes up the whole afternoon and evening, but I don't mind garden work and the weather is perfect for spending time outside anyways.  
The next day I want to plant the rest of the tulips and check on the growth of the others, but Minnie approaches me after classes in the halls.  
"I'm sorry… everything got so out of hand, I completely forgot…" What is she talking about? "The May Day Ball. We're supposed to do a fundraiser." Oh, so that's it.  
"I have taken care of it, but it would've been nice to be reminded earlier anyways. We will sell flowers in the mall, I need your help with making bouquets and selling them on Saturday. Furthermore, we'll make accessories for the May Dance from the leftover flowers, for which I also need your help. I'd like to sell them next Thursday or Friday.", I reply to her. Minnie just stares at me confused. "I… uh… of course, I'll help…", she stutters after having snapped out of it.  
Why is she so surprised? Is it due to the game event? I shouldn't have been prepared for the fundraiser, following the game flow after all…

On Saturday I wake up extra early to deliver the mail and pack the flowers into the van. I had harvested them yesterday evening and kept them in buckets filled with water, so I only have to move the buckets in the van, together with some vases and the other stuff. Hieronymus drives us to the mall and Minnie and I set up our booth with his help. After we have finished, we start making bouquets. Since I read a book about flower language in the holydays, I use the knowledge to make bouquets for different purposes. I instruct Minnie in which flowers to use together for funeral bouquets, apology bouquets or bouquets used for confessing your feelings or simply giving thanks. Apart from the mixed bouquets, we also make some simple bouquets from tulips, in one color or mixed colors.  
After having stocked up our booth with enough bouquets, Minnie leaves and I take over the first shift. My shift will last for three hours, after that Minnie also takes over for three hours. After that I will take over again for two hours and then Minnie will come help packing up. Apart from selling to the mundane mall visitors, students can also order bouquets to be delivered to someone for tomorrow. Courting gifts are popular in the magical world, especially in the spring, so a lot of our customers are fellow students. Most of the bouquets we made, are for showing affection accordingly. Apart from that, I sold two apology bouquets to young men for their fiancé / wife and a funeral bouquet to an elderly woman, who came to the mall with her daughter to eat some cake, before visiting the cemetery for the death anniversary of her husband, and a small bouquet for showing your thanks to a young woman, who wants to thank her neighbor for taking care of her cat, while she was away due to work. People sure like to chat. Well, it's a good thing, that I read that book about flower language, since I wouldn't have been able to advise them on what to buy otherwise.  
Minnie arrived early to her shift and I use my break for roaming the mall a bit. Since I have used my whole money for buying supplies, so that I would have to borrow as less money as possible from my husband, there is now nothing I can really do here, apart from a bit windowshopping. I immediately gave Hieronymus the five dollar I received as allowance this morning. I really hate owing others money.  
I head back early to take over the last shift, since I'm growing bored of wandering the mall soon. Minnie also managed to sell a few bouquets, though not as many as I did. My second shift proceeds without any remarkable incidences. When it's time to close our store, we made enough profit to repay Hieronymus fully and I get my invested funds back. The surplus left isn't much, but it's not the end of our fundraiser yet. By the way, Hieronymus sat the whole time in the corner of our small store and read a book, like at the fundraiser for Thanksgiving.

On Sunday, I deliver the ordered bouquets, before heading to the post office. Minnie and I craft the flower accessories, which we'll sell on Thursday afternoon for the May Dance. I also got Ellen to help us. I didn't need to persuade her, but she still feels distant. I didn't even try asking Virginia, since I doubt that she's good at crafting. Ellen melts the wax and I dip the flowers into it, thereby preserving them. In addition, I modify the properties of the wax slightly by using black magic, in order to improve the coating properties a bit. Meanwhile Minnie makes some bows using the hot glue gun, which we'll be using as base for the wrist corsages.  
Next I show them how to stick the flowers on the bows, using glue and wire. "Where did you learn how to make these?", Ellen asks me curiously. I shrug.  
"I read a book about handicraft in the holydays. There wasn't much to do here anyways…", I explain to her. "Wait, you stayed here for the holydays? Why didn't you go home?" She sounds a bit suspicious… Maybe she thinks I stayed for my husband? Furthermore, Ellen didn't know? Now that I think about it, we only talked about their holydays back then. They didn't ask and I usually don't talk about myself, unless someone wants to know something about me.  
"I stayed because of Damien." NOT my husband! Now Minnie also curiously turns to me. Wait, was it wrong to mention Damien?  
"What has Damien to do with it?", Ellen asks confused. I sigh. "He kind of stalked me, so I didn't feel safe returning home. Which turned out to be the right decision.", I dryly explain to her. Great, now she is visibly upset. "He stalked you? And you didn't tell us? What else is there, that we don't know about you?", she complains pouting. Are you the right one to accuse me? Mrs. Secret-Organization-Member, who is dating Donald behind our backs? Well, she shouldn't be part of Rose and Wasp, since she didn't argue with Grabiner about her exam, but she would join them without telling us, if given the chance.  
"It's not like he harrassed me a lot, I didn't pay him much attention anyways. Then he started dating Myreen and I thought he would've given up, but he attacked her and got expelled. I felt a bit tense during the holydays and might've confided in one of you for consolation, but you were at Virginia's, having fun.", I remark sarcastically. Immediate regret washes over me, since that came out harsher than anticipated, and I soften my tone a bit, "He tried to abduct me, but I got saved. Then the rumours about my wedding got out and it kind of distracted me from thinking about Damien." Minnie and Ellen look at me in shock.  
"He tried to kidnap you?", Minnie questions me. She sounds worried about me... "Well, technically, he succeeded… but I got saved. Again. And now I'm finally save from Damien, he gave up and got caught.", I answer her, without hiding my frustration about always being the damsel in distress.  
"You didn't inform us about your marriage, because your husband forbade you to do so. So why didn't you tell us about you being ABDUCTED?", Ellen criticizes angrily. "Well, it's not like I could confide in you these days, since you're afraid of me for being Grabiner's wife.", I snap at her.  
Ellen opens her mouth, but closes it again, unable to answer for a moment. "I… it's not like we wouldn't listen to you…", she counters a bit weakly.  
"You can't even deal with me being married in name only, so how could you deal with me being targeted by a powerful demon? Anyways, it's over now, so there is no use in dwelling on it for me.", I reply. I can't help but sound a bit hurt. I'm surprised at how much this conversation upsets me.  
"You should've told us nonetheless.", Ellen retorts. "Ellen, may I ask you something? Are you dating someone?" Ellen blinks in confusion.  
"Why are you asking me that suddenly?" Minnie also seems confused, but stays quite. "Well? Are you?", I continue probing. Ellen stares at me in silence for a moment. "I'm dating Donald.", she finally confesses. "And you didn't feel the need to inform us.", I sarcastically conclude for her. Ellen looks hurt. I take a deep breath.  
"Look, I'm sorry. I just… I guess I don't like relying on others… I didn't want to bother you at first. Then I thought it would be over anyways. And lastly, I felt unable to open up to you, since you were so distant to me lately.", I apologize to her. Minnie gives me an understanding smile. It was the same for her with Kyo, wasn't it?  
That time I was also frustrated, because she wouldn't confide in me more. Ellen stays silent, while looking down at the flower in her hands.  
She probably doesn't know how to react to this situation either. "I will try to open up more to you guys, ok? I guess, you're right, I shouldn't keep all my problems for myself.", I surrender. Silence ensures. Awkward.  
"So, uh, how did Damien kidnap you?", Minnie breaks the uncomfortable silence. I proceed to tell them about how I got tricked by this snake girl, who was tricked by Damien, and how Grabiner came to my rescue, together with Potsdam. While I summarize what happens, the atmosphere becomes more relaxed again.  
"Well, he swore to protect you after all…", Minnie comments Hieronymus heroic behavior with a smile. "He sure kept his word. I feel guilty about all the times he had to save me…" We continue to chat, while handcrafting more wrist corsages. Apart from the wrist corsages, we also tape few flowers together for the males to pin on their suits. I also simply hardened the stem of some flowers with black magic, so that you can stick them in your hair, like those Asian hair ornaments, that I saw in Korean dramas, and glued smaller flowers on simple hairclips.  
"Can you ditch your last class on Thursday, Minnie? I want to set up our shop early. Additionally, I'd like to use you as model and styling your hair will take some time." Minnie agrees to my request, a bit hesitating. Most students usually don't attend all classes on a day, but leave at least one period free, however none of us is normal regarding that. Ellen always attends as many classes as possible and studies a lot on the weekends. Minnie is similar to that, except that she often also teaches other students. And I, well, I attend all classes as well, though I don't study as much as Ellen does. I have also taught other students a few times, but I don't do it regularly like Minnie. After we have finished handcrafting the remaining flowers into accessories, I discuss suitable prices with them. I think I have a good instinct for choosing the right price, but it's better to get another opinion anyway. We will sell the small flower hair clips for 1$ per piece and the bigger ones for 2$. The flower brooches for the guys will cost 3$ and the flower wrist bands will cost between 5$ and 7$, depending on their complexity.


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34: Final examination

* * *

On Thursday, Minnie and I set up our stand, and I braid her hair a bit and put a lot of small flower clips in it. With the flowers and her unnaturally long hair, Minnie really looks like a fairytale-princess. I do my own hair in a tidy bun and put a white tulip in it. In addition I'm wearing one of the wrist corsages held in white.  
Our advertising seems to be successful, we manage to sell most of our accessories. After closing our stand, I calculate our surplus.  
We managed to raise more than enough funds for the May Dance, as expected. We'll even be able to donate some money to the academy, unless the ball committee is too lavish with ball room decorations and stuff.

I wake up early on Saturday to fulfil my treasurer duties as usual. There are way more packages than usual, mostly clothes for the May Dance it seems. Seriously, isn't it a bit late for that? This last-minute-planning… I will have to make several delivery rounds today. Anyways, the May Dance is approaching, soon the game ends.  
I take a look at the calendar. April, the 26th. The May Dance is on the first day of May, that's in five days. What will happen, after the game ends?  
Will I be able to continue stay here? My chest tightens. I got used to this world. I want to stay here. I don't want to relive the game either…  
Suddenly Grabiner comes in, disrupting my thoughts. "Good morning.", I greet him. He glances at me. "Morning, Elise." Then he heads straight for his mail and burns it. Typical. "Miserable old coot.", he grumbles while furrowing his brows. I can't suppress a chuckle. If you get used to his grumpiness, his grumbling becomes kind of cute. "You find this amusing?", he interrogates me with a raised brow. There is no real bite in his voice, so I know, that he isn't angry at me for laughing at him.  
"My apologies, I didn't mean to disturb the master of letter-burning in his incineration ritual. You just sounded like a complaining student.", I tease him.  
"Horror of horrors.", he replies with his ironic smile. Ah, somehow I'm not depressed anymore. I start humming in a Persian market quietly. "Oh, right, do you play an instrument?", I ask him, as he burns another letter. Two letters this time? "Excuse me?", he replies a bit surprised at my sudden question. I think it was mentioned in the game, that he played an instrument, but I forgot which. "Do you play an instrument? Something suitable for chamber music?"  
"I play the flute.", he answers. So that was it… I wonder, if he can play the Moldau from Smetana. "And you?"  
"Clarinet. But not on a level, where I'd let others listen.", I reply. I'm not that bad, but I easily get stagefright, which is especially bad, if you're playing a wind instrument, since you have to control your breathing. I pack the last package on the cart, since I can't fit more on it and Hieronymus holds the door open for me, before we head off in different directions, as usual. I need three f-ing rounds, in order to deliver all the packages. It seems, that most students nearly forgot to organize their formal clothing for this evening. How irresponsible.  
I consider visiting Hieronymus later, but exams are really close now, so he probably has no time for entertaining me. Since I was preoccupied with my treasurer duties lately, I decide to study during the weekend instead. Speaking about exams, wasn't there something I needed to do, before the exam? What was it?  
This question bothers me, but I can't remember what it could've been about. That is, until Potsdam handed me the exam plans on Tuesday morning, and explaining to me, that we will do the exam together. The talk! I should clear up any problems with my roommates, since we need to work together as a team later.  
"Guys, our exam schedule arrived." I wave the paper towards my roommates. "Wait, there is a mistake! We're all scheduled for the same time.", Ellen exclaims, after scanning the paper. "Didn't you know? The final is a group exam.", Virginia explains to her. "Does that mean, that if one of us fails, we all fail?", Ellen asks, visibly worried. Afraid of us dragging you down? That's rude! "I'm not sure.", Virginia answers her. "I'm certain, that we will. Which is why we need to talk! We should come clear with everything, so that we'll be able to smoothly function as a team later." …without discussing my feelings for Hieronymus, where he will listen.  
"…ok, if you insist.", Virginia reluctantly agrees to my request. Ellen starts to fidget a bit. I cast Silence on the closed door, sit down on my bed and start the conversation, "I gave you some time to come to terms with my marriage. If you have anything to tell me or ask me about this issue, now would be a good time."  
Ellen hesitatingly starts to speak, "Elise, I'm sorry, if I wasn't supportive enough of you earlier." "What are you talking about?", Virginia interrupts her.  
"About… your marriage. The Professor said we should treat it like it was serious. And I thought, if you were really married… everything would be different. It was easier to deal with if it was just this crazy awful thing that happened to you. Thinking of you as a real teacher's wife… was scary. But it probably was scary for you too."  
I kind of don't get Ellen's problem, but as long as everything is fine now…  
"Don't feel too sorry for her, she totally has the hots for Grabby.", Virginia nonchalantly comments. "What?", Ellen exclaims in shock. Is me liking him that unbelievable? Though I couldn't believe it myself for a long time. I mean sure, I liked his game route in the game, but in real life… I didn't expect to get used to his grumpiness that easily. I sigh. "Come on, it's so true.", Virginia teases me. "You like him?", Ellen asks me with big eyes. I shrug.  
"Just a childish crush, nothing more. He's handsome and I like his dry humor." "He is a very intelligent man.", Ellen adds, but she doesn't look convinced.  
She has problems accepting, that I could actually like him? Is it that unlikely, that someone could like him? "Anyways, our relationship could be described as 'friends' at most, and I don't plan to change that, so rest assured. I will stay his wife in name only.", I dryly conclude.  
I still have a sense for propriety, my current body is only sixteen years old. Besides, getting his love is impossible anyway, I doubt that the heroine actually succeeded in the game. The kiss was described as 'like a greeting', so it probably was just a pity-kiss or something like that.  
"So anything else?", I ask them relieved, that we finally dealt with this issue. "Oh yeah, Ellen, are you dating Donald?", Virginia turns to Ellen.  
I give her a reassuring smile. "… yes?", she confesses. We tease her a bit about not letting him influence her into becoming a bad student, before we head to class.

I'm more relaxed now, since we have talked it out. With this, our exam should be successful, right? After classes, we go together towards our exam room and Potsdam starts instructing us, "Today's exam works a bit differently than usual. You're all going into the dungeon together. Your task is to find the crystal orb and use your energy to light it up, before time runs out. It will not be easy to find, and you will face many dangers, so you need to work together to conquer this challenge. Good luck!" And with that, she teleports us into the dungeon. Darkness surrounds me, deeper than the darkness in the first dungeons. I can't even see my own feet…  
It's a good thing, that I'm not afraid of the dark, otherwise I would panic now. Suddenly a light flashes up, looks like Ellen casted it.  
"Put that light out! It might attract monsters.", Virginia reprimands her. "If we all huddle around it, the light won't get far.", Ellen defends herself softly.  
We follow her advice and crouch closer together. "So any ideas for our strategy?", I ask them. We have a time limit, so we must find a way to effectively search the dungeon, without wasting too much energy. "Well, since you're just _friends_ with your husband, I don't suppose he's given you any hints on how to solve this dungeon?", Virginia teases me. I chuckle. "He would be the last person to give me hints, since this is part of our training."  
"Yes, but did you ask?", Virginia continues teasing me. "Of course not. Wouldn't it be cheating, if I received hints?" "That's how it should be.", comments Ellen.  
"I still don't get, why you have the hots for him…", Virginia continues teasing me. "Virginia!" I stare at her in shock. "What? Why are you suddenly embarrassed?", she questions me confused. "He's probably monitoring our exam! Besides, at least declare my feelings for him properly to him, if you have to do so! I'm not having the 'hots' for him, it's just a childish crush or something...", I scold her. My cheeks feel hot…  
"Oh… sorry? But since the secrets out now, why not go for him?", Virginia suggests. Are you kidding me? "Impossible! He has no heart to give…", I reject, sounding a bit distraught. Virginia giggles. "Yeah, that much is definitely true." Argh! "I don't mean it that way! I'm not saying he's heartless. However, his heart is unobtainable… Arg, whatever, so what's our strategy?", I change the topic, feeling distressed. This is a bit upsetting, I hope this won't hinder me from solving the exam.  
"Well, let's see which way we need to go." Virginia casts a Breeze. "That's… strange. That usually gives me a direction.", she observes pensively.  
"I guess we'll have to look the hard way. The crystal has to be out there somewhere.", Ellen concludes. "That won't do. This dungeon is vast and we have a time limit. We need a good strategy for our search.", I object. "I have an idea-", Ellen and Virginia synchronically reply. They both stop and look at each other.  
"We need to find the crystal. That's the goal, that's how we win.", Ellen explains first. Well, that's kind of obvious though. Does that even count as a plan?  
"We need to find the boss monster. There's bound to be one ,and if we don't handle the main threat, it could sneak up on us.", Virginia describes her plan.  
Well, I guess it counts as a plan, but it's a sh*tty one. I mean, seriously? She proposes, that we wipe out the monsters in this cave instead of searching for the crystal? That's stupid! Ok, there is a certain chance, that the crystal will be near the 'boss monster', but wouldn't it be way too cliché?  
"It's obvious, that we should try to fulfil our goal, which is finding the crystal, but my question was 'how do we look for it in the best possible way?'. If we split up, we'd be able to cover more area in less time, however helping each other would be more difficult and we need to stay in contact. Virginia, white magic is your worst subject, so upholding a Communication-spell would be difficult for you, right? I propose that we only split in two groups: you together with Ellen, and I alone. You tend to head straight into trouble, taking Ellen with you would restrict this streak of you a bit." I turn to Ellen, "And Ellen, you tend to be a bit too prissy with making decisions, Virginia can counter your indecisiveness. And about me… well, I'm not overthinking as much as you, nor as am I straightforward as Virginia. However, I'm also not as strong in combat as Virginia, nor as good on concentrating as you, Ellen, but I think I should barely manage on my own somehow."  
When it comes to studying, Ellen has clearly overtaken me. To my defence, I was a bit distracted. Also, Ellen is not human, when it comes to studying, it's really impressive. Ellen and Virginia agree to my plan and I'm relieved, that they don't mind my analysis of their strengths and weaknesses. I have lost friends before, by pointing out their peculiarities.

We head off in different directions and I increase my hearing ability with green magic, in order to avoid bumping into monsters, and cast Awareness, in order to estimate in which direction I should head off. Unfortunately, the Darkness-spell of the dungeon seems to inhibit my Awareness-spell, decreasing the amount of area it covers greatly. Since white magic is my weakness, I decide not to use it again for now, as it would deplete my mental capacity too much otherwise.  
I cast Detect Charm from time to time instead, because I assume, that this dungeon is filled with traps. I come across some traps, which seem to teleport you to another location. I use my thought-connection, in order to warn Ellen about the traps, but they already came across them, but were able to avoid them, due to Ellen's insight. However, they weren't able to avoid a monster, and Virginia had to knock it unconscious. She got hurt a bit in the process, but not much. They make a good team, as expected.  
To be honest, I would've preferred going with them, being alone in this darkness, unable to even see my own feet, gives me an uneasy feeling.  
I avoid casting Light, since it would attract monsters, and my senses are on full-alert due to this, which adds to my increased hearing ability. Walking through the darkness with my senses on full-alert, feels as if I would visit a haunted house. I stop. I think I heard something scratching? I tilt my head in the direction, from which the noise came from. I can hear it again! Like claws scratching over stone. I carefully start sneaking in the opposite direction… and nearly trip over a small stone… Dammit! I can hear a load roar behind me. Not good. The scratching noises come closer to me in a frightening speed, I have to think of a way to deal with the monster. While I start running away, I cast Detect Charm again. There is another trap nearby. I slow down a bit, letting the monster approach me, while running towards the trap. I manage to leap over the trap, without touching it or using green magic. Suddenly, the roaring behind me stops and I slow down. Oh good, it worked.  
I was afraid it wouldn't work, but it seems the monsters in this dungeon are still stupid, though dangerous nonetheless.  
I wonder, if the dungeon monsters in the higher grades are more intelligent? They should be, right?  
A tingling sensation slightly washes over me, and I stop my steps again. What was it? The feeling got weaker, as I walked on, so I take a few steps back.  
There it is again! A small tingling feeling. "Guys? Something feels tingly… Magic?", I send my thoughts towards Ellen and Virginia.  
"We also felt something tingly. I think we're closer to it, than you. It should be the crystal orb, right? Let's meet up.", Ellen answers. I meet up with them,  
using our mind-connection. Together, we proceed to follow the tingling feeling, which grows a bit stronger with every step. "Wait.", I whisper to the two of them and grab their sleeves. They look at me questioningly, but I ignore them and further enhance my hearing ability.  
There it is again, the sound of claws stroking over the stone floor. I decide to double-cast Awareness for further information on the quantity and location of the monsters. I have to double-cast the spell unfortunately, in order to cover enough area with it, due to the dungeons inhibition.  
There's a big bulk of monsters ahead of us, there is no way, that we'll be able to take them all on.  
I inform my roommates about the situation, via the mind-connection. "So what shall we do?", asks Ellen. "We can't fight them, but the crystal orb should be in that direction…", I comment. "If we can't fight, maybe we can lure them away instead?", Virginia suggest. That actually sounds like a good plan…  
"One of us could draw their attention and then run away, while the others search for the crystal. And then they find it, they can teleport the one running away to them." The heck?! That's way too risky! "… or we just lure them away, without endangering one of us?", I propose. "Like what?", asks Ellen.  
It's a pity she lacks creativity, since she is so good at studying. Virginia is usually takes the most direct approach, also lacking creativity. I ponder a bit about different ways to lure the monsters away, without implicating us. Suddenly my encounter with the monster earlier comes to my mind.  
"We could simply drop a stone somewhere away from us, but near enough for them to hear it. That should suffice." Since I can only find small stones lying around,  
I use black magic, to create a big rock out of the floor, which Ellen teleports away from us. The rock falls down with a loud crash, and soon after the bulk starts trampling into the direction. Meanwhile Virginia creates a Breeze, in order to hide our scent, and I make another rock, which Ellen teleports even further away.  
Luckily, these monsters are so stupid… After luring them even further away with a third rock, we head towards the tingling feeling.  
Soon we reach a stone altar, with a crystal orb floating above it. We found it! And we still have enough time. "Ok, me first.", Virginia exclaims excitedly and touches the orb, in order to direct magical energy into it. Surprisingly, it takes her a while to do so. "Directing magic into it is kind of difficult…", she states with a frown. I'm next.  
My hands softly touch the orb and I begin drawing the magic into the orb in my mind. It is indeed a surprisingly complex process, similar to solving a puzzle, since the magic will only flow deeper into the orb on certain points. I finally managed to reach the center of the orb with my magic, and it's Ellen's turn.  
"Guh, I have a headache from casting so much, I can't concentrate…", Ellen complains. "Ah, I can using healing magic on you, that way the headache should disappear.", I offer Ellen. She gratefully accepts my offer, and I relieve her off her headache. Now I'm the one having a headache from casting so much, but it can't be helped, since Ellen needs to pour her magic into the orb, in order for us to finish the exam.  
After we managed to pour our magic into the orb, blue magic engulfes us, and we get teleported to the yard, where Potsdam is already waiting for us. "Congratulations, all of you. You have successfully completed your freshman year! That will be five merits for each of you. Now, go and relax! You have a dance coming up to enjoy." With this, I have successfully completed my freshman year. "Oh, wait, Elise?", Potsdam grabs my arm, as I turn to leave. "Yes?", I ask her confused.  
"A childish crush, hm? You should be more honest with yourself.", she tells me with wink. …No comment.


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35: The May Dance

* * *

Anyways, now that I passed my exam, I feel partly relieved and partly restless, since I will soon find out, what will happen to me, after the game ends. I try to relax the rest of the day, but I can't stop worrying about the future. Will I be able to see Hieronymus after the May Dance? He probably heard us talking about my feelings for him in the dungeon, during the exam… What does he think of me now? Is he appalled from me, due to my childish feelings? Does it even matter, what he thinks of me? Since the game will end soon… I sigh. Somehow, I'm in a weird mood.  
Everyone is getting their pictures taken the next day for the yearbook, and the student body is full of anticipation for the dance later. While everyone is happy and excited, I'm still in a strange mood. Somehow, my heart feels heavy… Am I lovesick? From my stupid crush?  
In the afternoon, Ellen and Virginia start preparing themselves for the May Dance. I help Ellen with putting on her wrist corsage, which she made for herself as a small reward for helping us, when she suddenly asks me, "Why are you not dressing up for the May Dance, Elise? Are you not allowed to attend due to your husband?"  
I smile wryly at her. "I'm allowed to attend, but who would want to dance with the teacher's wife? I'm still unsure whether I should go or not…", I reply, avoiding her gaze by focusing on the ribbon I'm tying around her wrist. Ellen's wrist corsage is mostly colored in light blue, with small pink and white flowers as color accents.  
It's very pretty and very girly, perfectly suited for Ellen. "I think you should go. It would be a waste, if you don't go.", she encourages me. Maybe she's right.  
If I don't like it, I can go, but if I don't go, I might regret it. I could also visit Hieronymus instead, of course, but… No don't think about it.  
I decide, to attend the ball and get dressed. I wear the dress I bought at the mall in my holydays, it's color is blue, which turns darker towards the bottom, and black embroidery is covering my shoulders and chest. Ellen helps me doing my hair into a bun with braids. My hair grew quite long during the school year…  
I put on some lacy, white teardrop-earrings and a wrist corsage, held completely in white.

In the evening, I arrive alone at the gym. Virginia ran off, before I finished dressing and Ellen went to meet up with Donald. I have the feeling, that this is going to be a lonely evening… I take a moment, to admire the gym decoration. The ceiling is decorated with translucent, bubble-like rainbow spheres and the walls are covered with climbing ivy. Additionally, the stage is surrounded by flowers and the light has a tinge of pink in it, just enough to make the atmosphere more dreamy.  
The rainbow spheres are definitely illusions, but the climbing ivy seems real. About the sea of flowers in front of the stage, they have to be illusions, since they're floating in the air without any soil. On the stage stands Corrinna, a snake senior, in a white dress with a flower wreath on her head. I can also spot some silver stars in her wreath. Before her, is the line of guests, waiting to greet her, the May Queen, by bowing to her or doing a curtsey. Most came in couples, or with their friends, which intensifies my loneliness a bit. I feel a bit betrayed, since my roommates seem to have forgotten me.  
I can understand Ellen, since she's in a new relationship with Donald, but where the f**** is Virginia? Traitor! I sigh, while I queue up. I'm nearly the last person to greet the May Queen. I do a curtsey as elegantly as possible, but the gazes of the other people make me nervous. Since everyone is watching the arriving guests in silence, it feels quite eery. After greeting the May Queen, I wait at the side, next to some students, I didn't have much contact with. I couldn't find my roommates, and my other classmates still avoid me due to my marriage. I thought about waiting next to Minnie, but she and Jacob look so lovey-dovey, I really don't want to disturb them. Ugh, somehow my mood is still strange. Finally a junior girl walks up the stairs and kneels before Corrinna, in order to be crowned the next May Queen.  
I didn't have much contact with her, but she looks really cute with her blonde-pink hair and her fluffy white-pink dress. After Corrinna placed the flower wreath on her head, everyone applauds and the Dance finally begins. No one asks me to dance, of course, and I'm not in the mood to ask anyone to dance with me as well.  
Mostly because the boys seem to avoid me, probably afraid of acquiring Grabiner's wrath by dancing with his wife.  
I spot Ellen, she's dancing with Donald and looks really happy. Their relationship seems to be so carefree… since I know Donald, I'm sure, that their love life is quite uncomplicated. I sigh. The first song ends, and I head towards the exit.  
I have seen enough, I'm really not in the mood to play the wall flower the whole evening.

Feeling restless, I decide to randomly roam the halls. It doesn't take long, until I end up in front of Hieronymus' door I raise my hand to knock on the door, but gently let the doorknocker down, careful not to make a sound and wake the lion. What did I even want to do? Confess my feelings? Ask for my 'first kiss', like in the game? I've already been kissed, and he knows it, he was present after all. I turn my back to his door, lean against it and slide down, sitting down on the floor.  
I wrap my arms around my knees and lean my head against the door. If I manage to convey my feelings to him, then I would cross a line. And if I cross this line, I won't be able to turn back. But what will happen to the me, that can't turn back, tomorrow? Ah, f**k it, I want to be foolish and simply go for it. Even if it is inappropriate. Even if there is no future here for me. Even if I don't succeed. Ah, but if I fail… I'm afraid of being rejected nonetheless. Tsk, I'm such a coward.

I'm startled, as the door behind me suddenly opens, and I gaze up to an equally confused Hieronymus. …I'm sitting on the floor in front of his door right now. He must think, that I'm super-weird right now! My cheeks slightly heat up, due to this thought. Why am I blushing so much, since I came here?!  
"Elise. Why? You… do not need to be here. Would you not prefer to join your classmates for the dance? Your – our – circumstances do not bar you from attending.", he tells me a bit flustered. I have never seen him flustered before… "This is your last night. You should 'have fun'.", he adds more composed, while he holds out his hand for me. I timidly grab his hand, and he helps me up. Ahh, I feel so embarrassed! "I don't particularly feel like fun… I guess, that reminded me of you?", I explain to him, slowly regaining my composure as well, while I follow him into his room. "Don't feel obligated to follow in my footsteps.", he responds with a slightly pained expression. Well, I'm happy that I can follow you into your room right now, though… "Your life is only just beginning. You should experience what you can and not let this unfortunate happening hold you back.", he adds more stern. "Unfortunate…", I sigh.  
He doesn't know, that this was all Potsdam's little matchmaker-scheme…  
"Would you choose a different word? You are tied to me through my mistakes and your unnecessary heroism. It should never have happened."  
I wouldn't call my act of throwing marbles at the unconscious him an act of heroism, not that it matters. I start feeling guilty about the circumstances of our marriage.  
I knew, that he would end up in that situation, if I would've stayed calmer… In addition, I shouldn't have messed around with Damien from the beginning.  
This was another reason, as to why things panned out the way, they did after all. "Ah, I think, I shouldn't bother you… I better head back to my room…", I excuse myself and turn back to the door. Due to my game knowledge, I have a guilty conscience. It's as if I would trick him into starting a relationship with me…  
"Wait." Just this single word, and I'm unable to leave. "I am not trying to hurt your feelings, I'm trying to spare them." Oh no, here it comes.  
I reluctantly turn back to him, and hesitatingly face him. "There is something I should tell you.", he continues. "Your interactions during the final exam, with your roommates. Are you aware, that I was monitoring them?" I knew. Which is why I'm so nervous right now.  
"I am concerned, that my actions may have fostered an… inappropriate connection between us. I have devoted my life to protecting foolish children from making permanent mistakes. It is my responsibility to prevent you from making one here. Go and play with your friends." Anger rises in me.  
"I'm not a child. I may not be a woman, but I'm definitely not a child. The magic word for this is 'puberty'. And I would 'play with my friends', however, they are busy 'playing house' with their own objects of interests.", I snap at him, with my voice full of sarcasm.  
Ok, I don't know about Virginia, but Ellen is definitely enjoying her time with Donald right now.  
"Besides, it's not your decision, who I like, Hieronymus. Not even I get to choose my feelings, so why should you get to choose for me? And your responsibility?  
Since when are you responsible for the love life of your students? Unless, it's endangering their life, but I highly doubt, that you would kill me for liking you, even though you're not comfortable with the way I feel.", I add, still sarcastic as f**k.  
"Well, since I'm already doing confessions, I may as well add another confession. Professor Potsdam obviously doesn't think of such a relationship as 'inappropriate'. She's trying to push us together. I'm honestly shocked about how much that woman likes to play matchmaker. Unfortunately, she even told me about… your past. It was not my intention, but I do know about… Violet.", I continue in a softer tone of voice. "That is no concern of yours!", he replies angrily.  
"Maybe. But you tell me to 'live my life', while you cope yourself up in your room and try to avoid everyone and everything, that has to do with 'life'. How many relationships did you have since then? It's not my place to say this, but if I were her, I would want you to move on. Don't misunderstand, I'm not talking about forgetting, but you are alive, you survived, it's rude to her not to cherish that." I probably really shouldn't say this, it is indeed not my place to meddle into his business, but… I'm growing tired of his self-pity-lifestyle. And I meant it, the way I said it. If I died due to my own mistake, while my loved one survived, then I wouldn't want em to life eirs life in self-pity. Because it would make my mistake that much more grave…  
"That is none of your business!", yells Hieronymus, now fully enraged. "You know, you're not as mature as you seem. You burn the letters of your father without reading them, you sulk and hide in your room to avoid dealing with people, you have problems controlling your temper and jump to conclusions… You have more in common with the typical teenager, than you would acknowledge.", I state calmly, before softening my tone, "Look, I apologize for being so direct. You are right, it is not my business, but I honestly like you, though I can't tell how deep exactly my feelings are. They are deep enough, to worry about you. And deep enough, for me to simply enjoy your presence, if you're not currently yelling at me. And I don't think, that liking you is ruining my life. But you shouldn't waste your life running away from it.", I conclude my speech. The anger, which filled my courage, dissipated. I don't know, whether he will forgive me for the things I said, but it was something, which had to be said. And therefore, I don't regret it, though I fear the possibility of him seriously hating me.  
For a moment, Hieronymus simply stares at me, speechless. "If… if my existence is as damaged as you imagine it to be, is that not all the more reason you should not waste your time here?", he asks me. Somehow, he sounds defeated. "Standing in the corner of the gym, watching all the happy couples dancing, while being completely ignored, was wasting my time. Having a serious conversation with my husband, the man I love, is definitely not wasting my time.", I reply unfazed.  
"Love?", he mumbles surprised. Ups. I meant 'like'. Yes, like. Nothing more. …who am I kidding? Love is a suitable description for my feelings, I won't deny it anymore. Hieronymus clears his throat. "The fact remains that you deserve better. Our connection is temporary. You will go on and discover your own young love. You should not make yourself bitter before your time." Geez, what do I have to do, in order to be taken seriously?  
"I already found my 'young love'. What do I have to do, in order for you to understand that?", I dryly retort. "You cannot be serious.", he states unbelievingly, emphasizing the 'cannot'. Whether I can or not, is not your decision though? "Why is it so difficult to believe? ", I ask him in frustration, while crossing my arms.  
"It is certainly a unique reaction…", he answers me. What kind of answer is that?  
"It's not my business, whether others are able to see your qualities or not. I like you. I like your intellect, your knowledge, your dry humor, your voice, your appearance, your capability. And I don't see, how I – as your wife – shouldn't be able to appreciate your qualities.", I calmly explain to him.  
"Well. That is difficult to argue with.", he admits softly. Does that mean, I have finally your permission to like you? How 'gracious'. But what to do now?  
Ah, I feel mischievous now. I have to be bold, right? "But I don't think you understood…", I state acting doubtful. "Ah, what to do?", I add a bit melodramatic.  
"Oh?", he asks, while raising an eyebrow. Good, he seems to be confused. I step closer to him, raise myself onto my toes and lean closer to him, slowly placing my lips onto his and softly kissing him. It's just an innocent, short kiss, but it's enough to make me feel all giddy. My heels are touching the ground again, but I feel like floating. "Anyways, please give me a chance? I'll wait for your answer…", I request of him nervously, suddenly unable to directly face him.  
Even though I was so bold, just a second ago… Soft fingertips are touching my chin, raising it up and I gaze at Hieronymus in surprise. He tilts his head down to me and returns the kiss to me. I instinctively lean towards him, not letting his lips escape. This feels heavenly…  
He wraps his arms behind my back, drawing me closer into his embrace, and our lips part, deepening our kiss. A tingling sensation spreads out from my spine and washes over my whole body. My cheeks are brightly flushed, as our lips finally depart. This kiss… is obviously a 'yes'. So… we're in a honest relationship now?  
I'm a bit at a loss for words. Hieronymus clears his throat, before breaking the silence, "I'm not surprised Petunia has been urging you into this. That was one of the things I was concerned about. I suspect my father may have been bribing her. He is desperate for me to marry and take up the family seat, to allow him to retire." "Well, 'urging me into this', is downplaying it…", I thoughtlessly comment. "What do you mean by that?", inquires Hieronymus warily.  
Ah well, he has a right to now, right? But… "You won't like the answer, though it won't change anything.", I reply evasively. "What did she do?", he asks me sternly.  
I start to fidget a bit. "She… orchestrated our marriage. Without my knowledge, of course, but I managed to see through her plot by coincidence.", I explain to him.  
For a moment, he simply stares at me, utterly speechless.  
"She… what?! HOW?", he probes further, enraged by the new information he received. "Well, she suggested the room to you…" And since his father was the one, who send him the Manus, he probably worked together with Petunia. "… how did you manage to find that out?", he asks me skeptically. I smile at him.  
"Marbles.", I reply. Hieronymus tilts his head in confusion. "Marbles?" I chuckle. "I only threw three. But you picked up more. Furthermore, I searched for Petunia at first and couldn't find her, but when I was in danger, she suddenly appeared out of nowhere. I questioned her about this, and she confessed. I wanted to tell you sooner, but you were so angry, I didn't want to further fuel your anger. Besides, the deed was already done, telling you wouldn't have changed anything.", I calmly explain to him. "I was wondering about these marbles…", Hieronymus dryly remarks. While remembering the confused look on his face, as he picked up the marbles, I can't suppress a small smile. "But to think, that she would go so far as to endanger the life of a student…!" Whoa, Hieronymus looks seriously scary right now.  
"Apparently, she had protected me, by shielding my soul from the Manus, or something. Anyway, your father might be a conspirator. He send you the Manus, didn't he? And since you would even suspect him of bribing Petunia…", I comment, while pondering about the incident.  
After hearing, that Potsdam had taken the necessary safety precautions in her scheme, Hieronymus visibly calmed down. He seems still angry though, just less scary. "The old coot would definitely do something like that. All because of this damn family seat…", he comments disdainfully. "Family seat?" What was this about exactly? Something about his title? "In Government. You were aware that my father was a Lord, were you not?", he replies.  
"A Lord in the mundane world, or in the magical world? I don't know about the responsibilities of a Lord nowadays…", I answer honestly. "Both. But nowadays, only the magical title counts. The council doesn't meddle much with mundane politics anymore, however, a certain amount of surveillance is needed, in order to protect our secrecy. Most seats of the magic council are assigned to outstanding magicians via vote, some however are passed down within important old families, together with a title. The seat of 'Shade of Shetlock' for example, is passed down together with the title Viscount/ Viscountess Montague.", he explains to me.  
"So you're a real noble, huh.", I muse. I thought it would be a magical-only title, since the magic community places importance on not competing with the mundane world. "You might say that. But then, so are you, at the moment." Oh… Hieronymus chuckles at the sight of my surprised expression. Don't judge me!  
I didn't make this obvious conclusion, because I simply couldn't imagine anyone addressing me as 'Lady', just because of this 'accidental' marriage.  
"Perhaps you should return to your own room now. But should you wish to correspond over the summer… I would not object.", he softly informs me. "Alright…"  
I'm a bit reluctant to leave, but he's right, it's getting late. I turn towards the door, only to turn back to him again. I lean in for another short kiss, and he returns the kiss without hesitation. "Good night, Hieronymus.", I bid him goodbye with a smile.

Back in my room, I jump onto my bed, without bothering to undress. We kissed! And it didn't feel like a greeting! But tomorrow… Argh! I roll around in my bed, one minute smiling like an idiot, the other frowning out of worry. After a while, Virginia returns. "… What are you doing there?", she asks, upon seeing me rolling around in my dress. I raise myself up. "Uh… nothing. I was just thinking about something… Anyways, there were you? I couldn't find you at the ball.", I counter-ask her.  
Better divert the attention away from me, I don't want to talk about Hieronymus with her right now. "I was there, though? I danced with Pastell… and Balthasar… but I didn't see you as well?" "Yeah, well, I left pretty early. Was not really in the mood for dancing, since the boys seemed to be afraid of me or something… Balthasar, huh? I thought, you didn't like him?", I counter. Virginia fidgets a bit. "Well, it's not like I can't stand him, he's just a bit weird…", she retorts.  
I suppose, she doesn't want to talk about it. Awkward silence ensures. "… I think I should ready myself for bed, it's already late…", I break the silence and swiftly change clothes and brush my teeth. Virginia seems to be thankful, that I won't pry further. It's a bit unfair, how she wouldn't accept it, if I wouldn't have told her about my feelings for Hieronymus, while she keeps her secrets for herself. Virginia also prepares herself for bed, and soon we both silently lie in our beds.  
Ellen is still away, probably still flirting with Donald. I stare at my ceiling. I simply can't fall asleep yet, even though I'm growing tired, since I can't stop thinking about what happened today and what may happen tomorrow. It doesn't take long, until I can hear Virginia's snoring. Great, now it will be more difficult to fall asleep. Suddenly the door creaks open, and Ellen sneaks inside. I consider teasing her a bit, about coming back so late, but decide to let her be instead.  
I don't want to wake up Virginia, besides, I'm not in the mood. Ellen doesn't notice, that I'm awake and heads straight to bed.  
It seems to take an eternity, until darkness engulfs me, and I fall asleep.


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36: Postscript

* * *

"Elise, wake up. You still need to pack." Mhm? I reluctantly open my eyes. "Ellen?", I mutter, while rubbing my eyes. I reluctantly raise myself up. "What time is it?", I ask her confused. Virginia seems to be up already. How unusual, normally I wake up first and not last. "9 o'clock. Breakfast will end in half an hour.", she informs me. Geez, I'm late! I immediately stand up and dress myself, while trying to suppress a yawn. "So how was your evening?", Ellen asks me, while I brush my hair.  
A tinge of red appears on my cheeks, while I think back about how I kissed Hieronymus. I kissed him! And he kissed me back! We're in a relationship now!  
No wonder, I couldn't sleep last night...  
"It was nice…", I try to evade the topic. "Really? I didn't see you after the first dance…", Ellen comments nonchalantly. "Maybe, it's because you only had eyes for Donald?", I counter teasingly. "Maybe… Or maybe you left early? To visit someone else?", she teases me back. I turn around to her and smile. "Maybe I did."  
Ellen eyes widen in surprise. "What happened?", she asks me curiously. "Oh, we just cleared up some misunderstandings…", I evade her question, while grinning like an idiot. Ellen raises an eyebrow at me. "Is that all what happened?", she probes teasingly, since it's obviously not all what happened.  
"No. But that's all I'll tell you for now. Anyways, how was your evening with Donald? You came back pretty late…" Ellen's cheeks turn red upon hearing my question.  
As I thought, the two of them definitely did something. I chuckle at her embarrassment. "You can tell me later in detail, I'm late for breakfast…", I bid her goodbye and head off to the canteen.

While eating breakfast, I can't shake off the feeling, that I forgot something. After breakfast, I pack my stuff. I still have time left, before my mother will come to fetch me. Shall I go and bid my husband goodbye? But we already bade goodbye yesterday, didn't we? However, the thought, that I won't be able to see him for the whole summer deeply depresses me. There is no way, that I will waste this last opportunity to see him, since we won't be able to meet up during the holydays!  
Having made my decision, I head towards his quarters. I timidly knock on his door. "Elise! Good morning.", he greets me. He seems happy. Yei .  
"Good morning, Hieronymus.", I greet him back, while stepping inside. "I just wanted to properly bid you farewell, before leaving.", I explain to him, as he closes the door behind me. "I see.", he replies with a soft smile. I step closer to him, and he embraces me, without hesitation. "I will miss you.", I confess to him.  
He tightens his embrace, but stays silent. I bury my face in his chest with a sigh. He will need some time to warm up, of course, I need to be patient.  
Suddenly, his soft fingertips are stroke my cheek. I look up to him, and he kisses me. Surprisingly smooth…  
Ah, for a moment, all my sorrows are forgotten, but soon his lips depart. "You may consider not spending your whole summer with your parents. I'm sure, that you want to spend some time with them, but you could still attend some summer classes.", he suggests. This means, that he will miss me too, right?  
Otherwise he wouldn't propose this. "I will consider it.", I answer him with a smile. I leave after another deep kiss, since my parents will arrive soon.

Back in my dorm room, I take my luggage and head to the entrance, where Ellen and Virginia are already waiting. Donald is also waiting with them, holding hands with Ellen. I join them, relieved that it's not too late to bid them goodbye. "Where were you?", asks me Virginia warily. "Biding my husband goodbye.", I truthfully answer her, without trying to feign an excuse. "Oh great, now you're all lovey-dovey as well.", Virginia complains playfully, while rolling her eyes.  
"Don't worry. For every pot, there is a fitting lid.", I teasingly try to comfort her. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?", she replies. I tilt my head in confusion.  
Did I phrase the idiom wrongly? Maybe she simply never heard this idiom before? The magical society seems to have their own language peculiarities.  
"That every person can find a fitting partner…", I explain to her. "Ha. You're weird.", she says with a laugh.  
Suddenly Virginia turns serious. "But I will have to find a fitting… lid. I already told Ellen, so I thought I should tell you as well…" Virginia starts to fidget a bit.  
"Donald wanted to tease me with an old marriage promise, I wrote as a child, together with Jacob. Turns out, the promise still counts. Fortunately, I don't have to marry Jacob, but I'll have to marry SOMEONE when turning 18, otherwise I'll lose my magic.", she explains to me sorrowfully.  
I see. Sounds harsh, but I suck at comforting people. "So… uh… do you already have someone in mind?", I ask her delicately. "Well, you're already married, Pastel likes to flirt with everyone, and Ellen is in love with Donald… However, Balthasar offered to marry me, should I not be able to find someone…", Virginia hesitatingly replies. Balthasar? Is that why she danced with him on the May Dance? "I see. Ah, don't worry, being married isn't as bad as it sounds. Even if you don't have feelings for each other, you can be married in name only.", I try to comfort her. "Sure, your marriage isn't bad, you love him after all, for some reason.", she teasingly remarks.  
"At the beginning, I thought that he would hate me… At least Balthasar definitely likes you, and would marry you completely voluntary.", I retort.  
"Yeah… I guess he's better than Grabby." … not in my opinion, but it's good if she thinks that way. "Well, only the hard get into the garden.", I tease her.  
She'll have to simply go through with it. "What the? You're saying weird things today.", Virginia laughs.  
Somehow this time, the idiom I used was definitely wrong?  
"Virginia, your parents are here.", Ellen interrupts our conversation, and they hurriedly begin to grab their luggage. So Ellen will go with them again, as expected…  
"Ah, I also want to visit the Danson family…", I mumble. Virginia gives me a surprised look. "Wanna come over during the summer?", she asks me playfully.  
Ups, embarrassing. "I would like to, if it wouldn't bother you…", I reply, still embarrassed. I didn't invite myself to come visit them, right?  
"Course not. Let's go ask my parents." And with that Virginia drags me over to her parents, who are already loading the car with William's luggage.  
Virginia's father is surprisingly ripped, he kind of looks like a warrior. And her mother fits the image of an amazon, she's also well-build and very energetic.  
Virginia's father is rather calm and silent, on the other hand. I wonder, what their occupations are…  
Soon after my roommates left, my mother also comes to pick me up.

While we drive home, I scan through the yearbook. Apart from the pictures of all students, there are also pictures from the various clubs, the fundraisers and normal school life. When were these pictures taken? Next to the single pictures of the students is their poll result for the future career and what they're most likely to do. Apparently, my classmates think, that I would become a memory collector in the future. But I suck at white magic… Is it because they think, that I'm cold, so I would be suited for such a heartless job? How rude. Furthermore, I'm voted most likely to be the first to divorce. Well, I saw that coming, so I'm not really upset.  
I look at Ellen's picture. Her future career is magic researcher. That is actually quite fitting… And she is most likely to get spaghetti sauce on her head. How rude! Virginia's future career is duel instructor, and she is most likely to go regimental. Well, she is extremely good with red magic, and she was a bit bossy in leading the sport club. Donald is most likely to become the leader of a rebellion, and his future career is cat burglar. Suki is most likely to talk with things and her future career is spirit mediator. Manuel's future career is healer, and he is most likely to safe an injured Hodag. The last page of the yearbook is for exchanging signatures and wishes with classmates. Virginia wrote 'Go horses!' and Ellen thanks me for being a great roommate. Minnie also thanked me for helping her.  
And Potsdam wishes 'us' the best of luck in the future. No comment.  
But most importantly, my husband also demeaned himself to write something for me. He looks forward to seeing me again the fall.  
Well, or earlier, should I wish to attend the summer classes, but he didn't mention that in the yearbook. I already miss him…  
I close the yearbook, stuff it away and start reminiscing about the school year. A lot of stuff happened, I got tricked into marriage, got abducted, was hunted by the whole student body for gossip… But despite all the mishaps and dangers, it was a fun year.  
Thinking about my abduction and Damien… how did I manage to figure him out again? I was wary of him since the beginning, but why did I decide to confront him after the winter holydays? I get pulled out of my thoughts, as the car stops. I'm home.  
I get out of the car, to grab the rest of my luggage and look up to the house I grew up in.  
Summer vacation is going to be long…

 **THE END**


	37. Chapter 37: Extra - Grabby-POV

Extra: Grabiner-POV 1: A new semester, a new headache

* * *

I sigh, as I gaze down on the now empty yard. Just two hours ago, the yard was still filled with students, old and new, bustling around.  
The sight was pure chaos, as the excited students looked for their dorm rooms, while catching up with old friends and making new ones.  
I could swear, that it wasn't as chaotic last year. It's as if they would grow wilder by every year.  
And with that, the headache they cause me, also grows. Especially the new students behave so carelessly, that ensuring their safety is a full-time job.  
They don't seem to have any sense for danger whatsoever. And among the careless new students, the wild seeds stand out for lacking caution.  
The amount of wild seeds has been increasing from year to year for unknown reasons, further adding to my headache.  
Though I don't hate wild seeds, in contrast to some of these old sods, but they do seem to have a talent for getting themselves into perilous situations.

Just as I've been pondering about the various causes for my increasing headache, I notice a movement at the periphery of my vision. My sight is drawn to the female student wearing a green cape, who is walking across the yard in a weird way. Her movements remind me of an old grandma with a damaged hip. I truly understand students less and less with every passing year. I haven't seen the student before; she must be a new student. She seems to have problems with finding her dormitory. Since no one is around, who could help her, I teleport down to her.  
I land in front of her, just as planned, but she doesn't seem to notice my arrival at all. While gazing to the side, she takes another step forward, and grandly crashes into me, before I even get the chance to draw her attention. I speechlessly stare down at the small body, that bumped into me, only to be met with accusing eyes. Daring to glare at a professor, furthermore one you bumped into on your own accord? What kind of attitude is that?!  
"Sorry, Sir.", she apologizes, her eyes not showing any of the silent accusation they had a moment earlier. "A new student, I see. And what might your name be?", I ask her calmly. "Elise Ojousama.", she answers reluctantly. I'm certain, that she considered giving me a false name. Otherwise she wouldn't have hesitated for so long, before replying. I open my book with the list for the new students and immediately find her name. She's a wild seed. Of course.  
"Miss… Ojousama, is it? Wild seed. How unsurprising. More than likely, a complete waste of my time. You have no idea what you have been giving, and you will throw it all away.", I comment. Given her attitude until now, in addition to her being a Horse, she probably will cause problems out of a lack of respect for the school rules, resulting in her being expelled. So many students get expelled each year, it's a pity, but their lives are even more important than their education after all. And airheaded behavior like hers could easily lead to her death in the world of magic. "Ten demerits. Not a promising start.", I scold her, as I write the demerits down. I close my book and directly look at her, while continuing scolding, "Pay more attention to your studies than you do to where you're walking, Miss Ojousama, or you'll find yourself expelled, before the New Year." My voice grows louder as I scold her, in the hope of knocking some sense into her. Having said my piece, I swiftly walk away towards my room. Coming to think of it, I forgot to show her the way to her dormitory. Well, she should be able to find it on her own…

I unexpectedly meet Miss Ojousama again on my first lesson of the new semester. It's one about red magic. In contrast to my expectations, she seriously attended my lesson and diligently started learning by herself, so I didn't pay her much attention. It would be desirable, if Mr. Danson payed the same amount of attention to his studies as Miss Ojousama does to hers. Mr. Danson seems to have a talent for red magic, just like his siblings, but he seems to care more about horsing around than about deepening his studies. He already received ten demerits from me, for swapping the textbook of his sister with a children's book. I have the feeling, that my chronic headache will significantly worsen, because of him.  
Equally annoying as Mr. Danson's childish pranks is Petunia's attitude lately. I don't know, where that old lady got the idea from, that I would need a partner to share my troubles with, but I sure want to strangle whoever it is, who's responsible for this. Well, I have a hunch as to who could be responsible for this, but I hope that I'm wrong. Actually, Petunia started acting this way in the last year, but I had hoped, that she would give up over the holydays. That assumption was wrong, to my disappointment. On the contrary, her meddling increased by the start of the new school year. "Hieronymous?" Ugh, here we go again. "Hieronymous, you still didn't reply to my letter? The one about the magical matchmaking event?", Petunia chirps, as soon as I step into the entrance hall of the teacher's dorm. I frown and reply in annoyance, "How often do I have to tell you, Petunia, that I would never ever attend any kind of event with the word 'matchmaking' in it?" "Oh, but this time, the organizers are 'MageMatchers', this year's most successful matchmaking organization in magical society!", she tries to persuade me. "For the last time! I don't care, if it's 'MageMatchers', 'Elitewitch' or 'Mageship', I will not attend any of such dubious gatherings filled with pathetic people desperately looking for some meaningless intimacy. How you could ever expect me to participate in such demeaning endeavor is beyond me, but please stop with your delusions already.", I harshly retort. Hopefully harshly enough, to get through Petunia's thick skin and make her understand, that I'm truly not interested in entering into a relationship. "Oh, Hieronymous, no need to be so shy!", she chirps in a sickening sweet voice. Hopeless! This woman is absolutely hopeless! Since there is no use in talking to Petunia, I simply dash past her and towards my room, while showing my discontent with growl. Though I have secured my room to my utmost ability, the defenses pose no obstacle for her, but luckily, she has at least enough courtesy to stay out of it, unless I invite her in.

At the beginning of the second week, Miss Ojousama approached me on her own, to my surprise, and asked me for book recommendations regarding the magical world, particularly its society. Most students, especially freshmen, are far too afraid of me, to approach me on their own. Learning the basics of magic is the top priority for freshmen, so I naturally didn't recommend her any books though. I must admit, that I am a little bit pleasantly surprised, that Miss Ojousama noticed her own ignorance, she seems to have some self-awareness at least. But then again, it's foolish of her to think that reading a few books could compensate the common sense all wild seeds lack.

A few days later, I find a letter in my desk, to my horror. I had hoped, that I would be spared this year from this stupid prank imbecile students like to pull on me annually for the initiation ceremony. Like every year, I read the 'love letter' loud in front of the students and ask for the perpetrator to raise eirs hand afterwards. Turns out the culprit was Miss Ojousama. I shouldn't have doubted my first impression of her, in the end she still lacks respect for authority, despite the diligent-student-act she pulled off during classes. How disappointing.

In the afternoon, I come across Mr. Ramsey. Contrary to what it seems like, I don't despise my students, though I do get annoyed at them from time to time. Mr. Ramsey however, is a different case. I don't care about his suspicious background, but he has been breaking hearts left and right since last year. I can't stand frivolous people like that. "Prof. Grabiner, I have something to confess. Please, will you listen to me?", he asks me, while putting on a guilty expression. His expression feels off. I'm sure that whatever it is that he has done, he doesn't feel guilty about it. Well, it wouldn't be the first time, that he commited a misdeed and acted as if it was all just an accident. He's a master at faking, the main reason as to why I despise him so much. "What is it?", I ask him nonetheless. "About the letter incident… Eli- Miss Ojousama is innocent. I was the one, who told her to write it, however she gave the letter to me. Someone must have stolen it from me, and placed it in your desk. So, please don't punish Miss Ojousama." Miss Ojousama is innocent? Well, apart from letting herself be forced to write some silly love letter for this idiotic initiation ceremony at least. However, I don't think Mr. Ramsey was not the one to put the letter in my desk. I have witnessed him pulling similar pranks onto his 'girlfriends' before, after all. "So, in other words, you would like to take responsibility for this incident?", I ask him, without hiding the coldness in my voice. "Of course.", he replies sweetly, unperturbed by my cold tone. Ugh, his sweet-talking is so disgusting. "Very well. Ten demerits and detention this weekend." I turn around and leave him, without another word. Come to think of it, Miss Ojousama tried to say something, after admitting to being the author. She probably wanted to explain herself, but I thought that she would just try to pull the usual excuses students give. I'm so sick and tired of the lame and uncreative excuses students try to pull off again and again. But I guess I should've listen to her nonetheless. Now I'll have to make it up for her. Ugh. I hate having to apologize.

The next morning, I'm contemplating on how to apologize to Miss Ojousama. I hate to admit it, but she has shown some courage by admitting to being the author of the letter. She certainly shouldn't have written the letter in the first place though, especially not for someone like Mr. Ramsay. This irritating initiation ceremony; how many freshmen foolishly feel themselves forced to follow their senior's every command and regrettably commit mistakes every year, because of it? But as it is tradition in this school, and tradition is very powerful in magical society, there's nothing I can do to abolish it.  
Just as I was thinking this, I suddenly spot the person in question, Miss Ojousama, walking not far away from me. She has her back turned towards me, so she probably hasn't noticed me though. This is the perfect opportunity to apologize. I sigh, before catching up with her. Suddenly Miss Ojousama stops in her steps and turns around. I immediately come to a halt as well. "Good morning, Miss Ojousama.", I greet her politely. Strange, she doesn't seem surprised at all, to suddenly meet me. "Good morning, Sir.", she calmly returns my greeting. Afterwards, she patiently waits for me to speak again.  
"I… believe I owe you something of an apology.", I hesitatingly begin. I truly don't want to do this, but I will naturally apologize, when an apology is due. Miss Ojousama stays silent and simply waits for me to continue. Oddly enough, her expression isn't revealing any emotion, neither glee nor awkwardness or embarrassment. "I did not give you the chance to explain your actions, because I believed that I already knew the reasons behind them. You may not be aware, Miss Ojousama, but it is considered a traditional Initiation 'prank' to order freshmen to proclaim their 'love' for me. The very thought of which fills them with horror.", I explain. "That must be terribly annoying.", Miss Ojousama suddenly comments. It is indeed so, however I never expected a student to empathize with me. Such maturity is after all not to be expected of students, especially freshmen, according to my experience. I'd usually be suspicious, if a student were to try and sympathize with me, however I could clearly see the honesty in Miss Ojousama's eyes. Miss Ojousama is more mature than I thought, it seems. I clear my throat and continue with my apology, "Since it was not your intent to disrupt my lessons, I will cancel your detention and return the ten merits I took from you. And another ten, for having the courage to admit that you had written the letter, and in apology for the lesson you missed out on."  
Her emotionless expression changes into a happy one, and she courteously thanks me.  
Hopefully, this apology won't make her become cocky.  
"Please do not feel, that this makes us 'friends', Miss Ojousama. It is simply a matter of redressing the balance.", I remind her just in case. I hate it, when students suddenly try to act chummy with me. To my relief, Miss Ojousama seems to understand this. I suddenly imagine her running towards me, with a big smile on her face and greeting me with a 'What's up, Hiero?'. The very thought of that happening gives me a chill.

Of course, this fear doesn't come true. When I see her in my next class about blue magic, she's acting as usual. After class, I see her walking towards the gym with the other freshmen. Oh yes, today is the ending ceremony for that damned initiation. Hopefully, that means she won't be interacting with that Mr. Ramsay anymore. I have to admit, that she's a good and diligent student, which is why I don't want that bad influence to be around her. I don't want that bad influence to be around any other students as well, of course, at least not until Mr. Ramsay has learned some manners and morals.  
"Hieronymous! Who are you looking at?" The chirping voice of Petunia suddenly interrupts my thoughts. "No one in particular. What is it, Petunia? I swear, if it is about another matchmaking event, I will quit right here and now!", I threaten her. Petunia laughs coyly. "Hieronymous, we both know, that you can't quit. Where else would you work? Your father's arms are long, and he wants you to succeed him." I gnash my teeth, before snapping back, "No need to remind me." "Anyways, this time I'm not here for some matchmaking event. You don't seem to be interested in them after all.", she explains. "Oh?", I suspiciously raise an eyebrow. Is it true? Did that old lady finally give up? "So, instead, how about a blind date? I coincidentally know a witch, that would be perfect for you! I'm sure you two will get along.", Petunia suggests. "I decline.", I growl and angrily stomp away. Petunia sure knows how to ruin my good mood.

The next day, I witness by coincidence Mr. Ramsay coldly ignoring Miss Ojousama, when I was on my way to the library. I do not know, what happened between the two of them, nor do I care, but it's good, if Mr. Ramsay won't bother Miss Ojousama anymore. It would be even better of course, if Mr. Ramsay would stop bothering witches altogether. I would punish Mr. Ramsay for his indecent behavior, if I could, but with Petunia's 'free love' agenda, it's impossible. He is not breaking school rules by breaking hearts after all.

When I arrive at the library, it's more crowded than usual. This is always the case, on the weekend before an exam. As expected, the students gathering here to learn are either zealous students, who often come here, or those, who performed poorly till now and are now panicking because of it. I sigh and head to the section about magical history. If only they would realize their inadequacy sooner. Well, this is the reason as to why we have exams after all. I grab the book "The pentagrams of the Philean ruins – An analysis' and head back to my room to read.

In the afternoon, I attend a meeting of the professors regarding the first exams of the students. On Friday, the exam for the freshmen will commence, the exam for the seniors will be held on Saturday. And the exams for the Juniors and the Sophomores will proceed on the Friday and Saturday of the following week. Like last year, I will oversee the exams of the freshmen, together with Petunia. And like last year, Petunia couldn't stop herself from making a tasteless joke about us playing 'good cop, bad cop'. I don't mind being hated by the students, but I do mind Petunia's lack of seriousness, when it comes to the students' safety. I don't know, whether Petunia's attitude problem simply stems from being alive for so long, or if she always had this carefree attitude. Well, thinking about the stories about her life she told me, it's probably a mixture of both. Thinking back to her various love stories, it's a wonder, that she managed to survive for so long and yet, she still doesn't seem to have learned anything, when it comes to love. Anyways, about the exams, I should hold a study session for the freshmen again. Some of them looked quite desperate in the library after all.

As expected, quite a lot of students came to the study session, diligent and slacking students alike. Some of them I hadn't seen in my classes since the beginning of the school year. It seems their fear of failing the exam grew bigger than their fear of me. Most of the students attending are also regulars of my classes though, such as Miss Cochran, or Mr. Katsura. Those attending my classes have mostly no need for this study session though, since only diligent students tend to attend them, with very few exceptions. My lessons are usually emptier than those of my colleagues thus, but I don't mind that, since it makes lecturing easier. I also wouldn't mind more students attending my classes though. To be honest, contrary to my expectations, I'm quite satisfied with this year's batch of new students, since there are a lot of talented and diligent ones among them, such as Miss Cochran, or Mr. Blaising. Mr. Blaising seems to be a little too confident in his ability, but he is quite talented nonetheless. And I heard, that Miss Cochran even offers lessons to other freshmen. Such dedication is admirable. Another student, that stands out with her performance is Miss Middleton. She is one of the most zealous students I have met. I often see her studying in the library. While I let Miss Middleton explain how to reinforce the casting of a spell and why, I notice Mr. Danson trying to cast Breeze-magic on a paper plane. "Mr. Danson.", I interrupt Miss Middleton angrily. "Yes, Sir?", he replies lightly. "As you do not appear to need these revisions, you're excused. You may find more challenging material to occupy you this Saturday in detention.", I scold him. "Yes, Sir.", he replies seemingly obedient. Being born into a magical family, one would expect him to be more careful, but Mr. Danson is playing puerile pranks nearly every day. In most cases, the victim seems to be his sister. Normally, he could have already been expelled, but Petunia seems to help him gain merits for some reason. Well, I do remember a time, when she often also used to play harmless pranks on the staff and the students, so that might be a reason, as to why she sympathizes with him. Thankfully, she stopped doing that though. For the headmistress to behave so immature, she sure didn't care about this academy's reputation. Again, it's good that she stopped doing that. I really hated that phase of hers. Let's hope, that Mr. Danson will also end this phase soon and become more mature. I'm afraid, I will spend most weekends supervising detention till he graduates otherwise.

The exams on the next day proceed rather smoothly. Though there are a few students, who fail the exam, overall this year's batch is slightly above average. There are more talented witches among the freshmen than usual, which fills me with slight anticipation for the next exams to come.  
Watching my students succeed always delights me. Just when I have been thinking this, the next participant, Miss Sato, tried to use White Magic to escape the Dungeon. I sigh and teleport her out. "Miss Sato, care to explain what the hell you have tried to do there?", I ask her annoyed. "I just wanted to ask Lorelei, whether she could help me find my way out.", retorts Miss Sato sulking. "I see.", I reply, while narrowing my eyes. "Ten demerits and detention." While I'm issuing Miss Sato's punishment, Petunia suddenly intercepts me telepathically, "Send her to me for her detention, Hieronymous. I will oversee this case." I sigh again, but obediently instruct Miss Sato to go to the headmistress' office for the detention tomorrow. It's rare, that Petunia wants to oversee a detention, usually she leaves that to me. I think it's because she doesn't want to be hated by the students.  
After Miss Sato left, the next participant already arrived. It's Miss Ojousama. I'm curious to see, how Miss Ojousama will handle this exam. She starts weaving her magic in a typical blue magic pattern. I see. A good attempt, but it's too early for an attempt in teleportation magic, she will lose concentration, before she's able to fin- Eh? The next moment, Miss Ojousama finished her casting and disappeared. Oh shit. Hopefully, she didn't teleport herself into a wall or something. I immediately use white magic to scan the surrounding. Found her. She's in the park. Good. High above in the air. Dammit! I curse and teleport myself to her location. I immediately spot her and manage to catch her just in time. I use my arms to slow down her fall, before stopping it completely, so that she won't get hurt. My arms hurt a bit from braking her fall, but she doesn't seem to have sustained any injuries. What a relief. "Miss Ojousama, are you alright?", I ask her nonetheless, just in case. I look down on the pale, young witch in my arms, just to realize, how indecent it is, to be carrying my student this way. Well, it can't be helped, since it was an emergency. "I had not expected you to be capable of a full-body teleport at this stage. I should have given you better safety instructions. My apologies, Miss Ojousama.", I apologize to her, while carefully letting her down. While Miss Ojousama thanks me embarrassedly, the color is slowly returning to her cheeks. This incident must have frightened her quite a bit. This is also good, since it will teach her to be cautious with magic.  
As Miss Ojousama has succeeded in escaping the dungeon, while surpassing my expectations, I award her with ten merits.  
I underestimated her, she is more capable than I thought. After I explained to Miss Ojousama, why she won't be able to use the same method for the next exam, Petunia appears and agitatedly enquires about Miss Ojousamas health. Too late, Petunia. Too late. I dismiss Miss Ojousama and head back. Petunia seems to want to ask me something, but I'm not in the mood for her nonsense, so I ignore her. While returning to my position, I use green magic to heal the light injury I received from catching Miss Ojousama. Fortunately, Miss Ojousama is relatively thin, otherwise I might have broken my arms. She was falling from a height of about 7 meters after all. Now that I think about it, it is strange that her fall didn't make more of an impact. Did Petunia…? No, that wouldn't make sense. I discard the thought, before I even finished it. Apart from this incident, the rest of the exam continues to proceed smoothly. However, due to what could have happened to Miss Ojousama, I'm more cautious while examining the following students, especially when they try to use blue magic. I would never forgive myself, if a student of mine gets hurt due to my lack of attention, just like I never forgave myself for… that incident. I'm quite relieved, when the last student finished his exam without another occurrence.

The following day, I'd like to stay in my room and relax, but instead I'm stuck administering detention to those students, who managed to fail epically. And Mr. Danson, of course, who attends detention again, despite having passed the exam grandly by blowing up the wall, just like his sister. Why did he even come to my study session in the first place, when he neither needed the revision, nor was interested in it? As always, Mr. Danson's thoughts are beyond me.

The election of the new student council is soon. I have mixed feelings about this event. On one hand, I don't like the annoying campaigns, that come with it, but on the other hand, I won't have to deliver the post of the freshmen anymore, once there is a treasurer. It's not like I'm delivering the post manually, I simply send the letters on their way using a combination of white and red magic, but it is a boring work nonetheless. After I received the list of candidates, I prepare the documents they'll need and head out to deliver them. I head to Miss Ojousama first. She's running for treasurer against Mr. Blaising.  
Since Mr. Blaising's family is famous and well-integrated into magical society, while Miss Ojousama is a connectionless wild seed, her chances of winning are quite low. I arrive in front of her door and knock lightly. "Miss Ojousama, if you please?" I hear some rumble, and a moment later Miss Ojousama steps out and closes the door behind her. Half of her hair looks brushed, while the other half is unkempt. It's quite a weird sight.  
"Good morning, Sir.", Miss Ojousama greets me politely, while fidgeting around suspiciously. "Is there a problem?", I inquire, slightly confused by her weird behavior. "…No?", she replies after a suspiciously long pause. Why is she acting so suspicious? Whatever. I sigh and give her the election protocol. "You will review these documents and meet me after class today to discuss your campaign strategy. Unless you'd prefer to forfeit now and save us both the trouble." Her rival is quite strong after all. "No, Sir.", she replies confidently. Too bad, but at least she's not lacking self-esteem. Who knows, she might win, despite having Mr. Blaising as a rival. That would chasten Mr. Blaising's overflowing self-confidence, so hopefully she'll win. I still don't expect her to win though. I bid her goodbye and continue my way. Next is Mr. Blaising. As expected, Mr. Blaising seems to think, that he would have already won the election. He's grinning arrogantly, while receiving the election protocol. Looks like this year's competition will be fierce, though I don't understand as to why someone would get so worked up for the duty to deliver letters early in the morning. The work of a treasurer isn't exactly a glorious one, nor is it a beneficial one. Once again, I have trouble understanding my students.

When I meet Miss Ojousama in the afternoon, our meeting is immediately interrupted by the eldest Mr. Danson. Apparently, Miss Danson set her brother up to help Miss Ojousama with her campaign. However, it seems Miss Danson forgot to mention this to Miss Ojousama beforehand, as she declined Mr. Danson's help. Miss Danson naturally should have talked to Miss Ojousama, before even involving her brother, but it is also foolish of Miss Ojousama to decline the help offered to her. The older Mr. Danson is famous for being a model student after all, in addition he has the experience of a senior, who ran for various positions himself. When I advise Miss Ojousama to accept the offered help, she retorts, "Well, since I can only choose one resource, I'd rather go with the one which will aid me, instead of leading me. Otherwise I couldn't be called a leader, could I?" Witty. She has a point though, it was too overbearing of Miss Danson to call for help without notifying the person in question and it is quite probable, that she'll continue to meddle in such an overbearing way, if Miss Ojousama doesn't draw a line now. And I guess, Miss Ojousama truly wants to achieve victory on her own, which is also understandable.  
After Mr. Danson leaves, we smoothly go through the proceedings. Turns out, that Miss Ojousama has a thought-out concept for her campaign, contrary to my expectations. Though Miss Ojousama's concept is somewhat weird, I do think that she has a chance against Mr. Blaising now. A few days later, the campaigning is in full swing and the campus gardens are packed to the brim with candidates, who desperately vie for attention. I spot Miss Ojousama among them, hugging various students. What the hell is she doing?  
Thankfully, I didn't have to attend the election ceremony. I'm a bit curious, as to how Miss Ojousama's and Mr. Blaising's speeches went, but I couldn't care enough to attend this torturous long ceremony. When I go to the conference room to meet the new treasurer, I meet Miss Ojousama unexpectedly. Well, I did think, that she had a chance against Mr. Blaising. Nonetheless, it is surprising, that Mr. Blaising lost. Hopefully, this will dim his arrogance a bit. When I tell Miss Ojousama to report to the office at 5 am, she seems quite unfazed. I'm surprised yet again, as I didn't expect Miss Ojousama to be aware of this part of her duty. She is such a weird one, which makes her hard to read. After I return from instructing the new treasurer in her duties, I find a small letter pinned onto my door. It's from Petunia.

 _Please meet me in my office, I have something important to discuss with you._

 _\- Petunia_

I see. I immediately head to the headmistress' office and politely knock. After being invited in, I open the door and step inside. To my surprise, I don't seem to be the only one Petunia invited. Another person, who I'm unable to recognize, is sitting in front of her. I take a seat next to the stranger and questioningly gaze at Petunia. "Hieronymous, I'm glad you could make it. May I introduce you to Miss Silva?" I narrow my eyes upon listening to Petunia's introduction. Her voice sounds too sweet. It's suspicious. "Pleased to meet you, Miss Silva. I'm Hieronymous Grabiner.", I politely introduce myself nonetheless. Miss Silva has long, slightly curly, brown hair and green eyes. She's wearing one of these silk dresses with a leaves-corset, a traditional garb among dryads. "Petunia, could you please tell me, why you have summoned me?", I inquire. "About that, do you still remember our conversation about a blind date, Hiero- Hieronymous?", Petunia stops, when she sees me standing up. "Next time, please think twice before wasting my time again, Petunia. Goodbye.", I politely nod towards Miss Silva, while bidding the two of them goodbye and immediately leave. And here I thought, something might've happened. I'll make sure not to fall for the same trick again.

On Sunday, I had that old nightmare of mine again. The one, where I'm forced to live through my deepest regret again and again. Due to the nightmare, I repeatedly woke up in that night, with my body soaked in sweat. And as result of the sleep deprivation, that came with it, I overslept. I don't like eating in the cafeteria when it's crowded with students, which is why I usually wake up quite early. Therefore, I'm not going to be late, breakfast is simply going to be annoying. As expected, after getting my food, there were no empty tables available anymore. Damn it. I choose a seat close to the window at a table with relatively less people. Unfortunately, soon after I sat down, two students at the table suddenly start a pointless quarrel over which popstar is the better singer. Oh, how I loathe having to listen to intolerable teenie-talk so early in the morning. I'm close to interfering with their quarrel, to make them stop torturing my mood, when a third student suddenly interrupts their dispute for me. "Guys, please, stop it. Music is art, therefore its worth is in the eye of the beholder. You might compare the technical skills of musicians, but in the end all what matters is, whether you like their music. Therefore, stop arguing over who's better or not.", Miss Ojousama calmly lectures the two students. She delivered these lines in such a calm and matter-of-factly tone of voice, that she actually succeeded in conciliating the two with just these few words. I must admit, that sometimes, Miss Ojousama seems quite mature. More importantly, thank god those two shut up, I wouldn't have endured for much longer.


	38. Chapter 38: Extra - Grabby-POV 2

Extra: Grabiner-POV: Surrounded by bad influence

* * *

The Dark Dance is approaching. I'm not a particular fan of the Dark Dance, or any of the traditional festivities, but adhering to tradition is a must in magical society. Not celebrating the Dark Dance might incite the wrath of the spirits, who usually attend the Dark Dance, which could endanger our students. Celebrating the Dark Dance on the other hand will procure the spirits' affection to a certain degree, thereby adding a thin layer of protection for the students. Especially those, who focus on white magic need this fragile bond of friendship with the spirits. The bond created by the Dark Dance is usually not powerful enough, that the spirits attending would go out of their way to protect the students, however it's enough to ensure, that the spirits native to this place, will not attack the students of this Academy without reason. Miss Ojousama came by to ask me about the Dark Dance, when I was planning my next lesson.  
She seemed clueless about the Dark Dance, which is exactly why I'm against wild seeds running for student council positions.  
They simply lack the knowledge about our traditions, knowledge which is a necessity for these positions.

At the beginning of the Dark Dance I head towards the walls as usual, since I hate crowded places and the middle of the gym is always the most crowded. Once I have found a suitable spot, I start slightly swaying from side to side. The dancing part of the Dark Dance is obligatory, unfortunately.  
This way of dancing can't even truly be called dancing, ballroom dance is the only dance I acknowledge as such. I'm not particularly fond of dancing, but I hate this kind of "dancing", that is simply wiggling around mindlessly. While "dancing" absentmindedly, someone suddenly stumbles into me, with their back towards me. That person seems to have lost eirs balance, so I slightly use my arm to steady em, so that e won't fall completely.  
"I'm sorry, are you hurt?", I can hear someone asking sweetly the person, who fell into my arms. Such a sweet voice, is it a case of bullying? Though, the voice sounds like Miss Rao, so it's probably another pathetic attempt of her at flirting. For some reason, Miss Rao seems to aim for following into her mother's footsteps by acting promiscuous and coy. Her mother has quite the reputation and trying to compete with her is extremely foolish and unsightly of Miss Rao.  
Given how famous her mother is, Miss Rao will always be compared to her, so what's the point of imitating her? Unless she stops mimicking her, she'll only keep standing in her mother's shadow.  
As expected, the other party seems unfazed by Miss Rao's flirting attempt. The voice belongs to another female student, Miss Ojousama if I'm not mistaken.  
I was able to recognize Miss Rao by her voice, since she's such a nuisance. As for Miss Ojousama, I see her quite often in class and in addition she's the new treasurer. Not to mention, that her unique behavior stands out. I still remember the grandma-walk she did, when I first saw her.  
"I apologize for bumping into you. I hope you're unhurt?", Miss Ojousama earnestly apologizes to me. Miss Rao could learn a bit about how to apologize correctly from her, as one can hear the honest concern in Miss Ojousama's voice. "It's alright.", I reply. Miss Rao also seems to have recognized Miss Ojousama by her voice as well, as she excitedly interjects, "Oh, Elise, it's you? It must be fate, that I bumped into you. I wanted to dance with you." As always, her tone is simply nauseating. It's annoying, how she always tries so hard. I really hate that kind of flirtatious person.  
"If bumping into people means you're fated, then I'm fated to be with a lot of people, since a third of the student body already bumped into me tonight.", Miss Ojousama dryly retorts. Witty. Though Miss Ojousama clearly rejected Miss Rao's advances, Miss Rao still doesn't seem to have given up, as she whispers something in Miss Ojousama's ear, before leaving. She's truly an improper young lady, nearly as bad as Mr. Ramsey.  
Fortunately, the Dark Dance comes to an end, without any other tedious incidences.

Once the Dark Dance is over, the next event is going to be the tribute for the tribal councils. When I discussed the details of this fundraiser with Miss Ojousama, she yet again proved herself to be absolutely clueless about the traditions of magical society. Due to this, I have to explain more to her, but thankfully she is not a dull student, who needs to have everything explained over and over again. Once again, I wished Petunia would instruct the wild seeds better about the traditions and dangers of magical society. Though I do understand, that learning magic is the higher priority for freshmen, but wild seeds have a relatively high drop-out rate after all, since they're clueless and therefore less careful. Well, since Petunia is the headmistress of Iris Academy, I can't go against her decisions. All I can do, is trying to protect the wild seeds from themselves.

Just when I had started to view Miss Ojousama in a better light, she attended my detention, together with the number one attendee of detention, Mr. Danson - the unruly one. Truly disappointing. Apparently, she got into trouble by cooperating with Mr. Danson. It seems like Miss Ojousama is surrounded by people, who pose a bad influence. First Mr. Ramsey, then Miss Rao and now the unruly Mr. Danson. Socializing with the wrong people, can also be a fault. I hope Miss Ojousama realizes this, before she gets corrupted by them. It would be a shame to see such a gifted witch being led astray.  
She has proven herself to be far more capable than I anticipated in her first exam after all.

The first event for the Thanksgiving tribute, the fall play, is scheduled for today. I also bought a ticket, as usual. I am a fan of theater, though I prefer more professional plays. Nonetheless, Iris Academy is doing a good job with its fall production each year, despite the students lacking professional training.  
The biggest flaw in this year's play 'Medea' is the excessive use of fake blood. I don't know what it is, that the students of this Academy like so much about blood, but the plays seem to get bloodier with every passing year. Due to unrealistic amounts of fake blood used, the deaths in the fall play look simply ridiculous. Once again, I'd like to know what the producer of this play thought, when they decided to spray liters of fake blood from slit throats, making the dying roles resemble fountains more than corpses. Well, apart from the excess of fake blood, the play is quite enjoyable. The audience also seems to like the play. Quite a lot of people came to watch this year, so this year's play can be considered a success. Among the audience, I spot quite a few freshmen, such as Miss Ojousama and Miss Middleton. It's nice to see Miss Ojousama also socializing with people, who are not a bad influence.

" _And with this, the preparations are complete. Are you ready to explore the magical place called 'the Otherworld'?" I turn to Violet, while smiling proudly and extent a hand towards her. "Let's go!", she replies enthusiastically and grabs my hand, while adjusting her glasses with the other. Together, we step through the portal. On the other side, the sight of ruins greets us. "This… doesn't look like Almora.", I say, as an unsettling feeling fills my chest. We're currently standing on some sort of circular platform, which seems to be a sort of roof. Other buildings surround us, but they all appear rundown and abandoned. "Look, Hieronymous! There are creatures camping down there.", Violet exclaims, as she stands on the edge of the platform. She turns around to me, while stroking one of her brown curls out of her face. "I think we should leave. We have no idea, where we are after all.", I reply. "But we just go he-", Violet halts, when a piece of leather suddenly wraps itself around her ankle. Her foot is jolted back, causing her to fall and she desperately clings to the platform, while shouting my name panicky. I rush towards her and grab her hands, to drag her to the middle of the platform, but the force pulling her down is stronger than me. "Violet…Violet…", I whimper horrified, as I desperately try to pull her towards me. A sudden strong pull yanks her out of my grip and I watch in horror, as she falls down the platform. I crawl closer to the edge and look down. Violet lies on the ground, screaming like a banshee, amidst a horde of goblin-like creatures, who are gnawing on her arms and legs like a pack of wolves. "Violet!", I shout and try to fend of the creatures, using red magic, but my attacks are easily blocked by them. I'm forced to watch helplessly, as Violet's screams grow weaker, until she stops screaming completely and only the biting sounds of the creatures can be heard. I dejectedly stare at her unmoving body, refusing to accept, what my eyes show me. Violet suddenly turns her half-eaten face towards me and points with her finger at me. "IT'S YOUR FAULT! YOUR FAULT!"_ I jolt up, bathed in sweat and panting heavily. Yet again, that horrid nightmare. I wait until my heartbeat calms down, before I fall back into the sheets again.

The next morning is the fundraiser, so I get up early and help getting the stuff into the van, before setting of with the freshmen members of the student council. After arriving at the mall, I help them set up the booth, before retreating into a corner of the booth with one of the folding chairs and a good book. Customer service was never my forte and this is supposed to be the job of the students anyway, therefore there is nothing for me to do except for being here. The first student to man the booth arrives five minutes late. I frown, but refrain from commenting it any further, as the student, Miss Lièvre, already seems anxious enough. Miss Lièvre is the treasurer for the Juniors and belongs to Butterfly hall. To be honest, the position of a treasurer doesn't suit her, she lacks self-confidence and has a problem with making decisions. I don't know why she even ran for this position in the first place.  
As expected, Miss Lièvre struggles with her duty as a saleswoman, as she is too shy to approach potential customers on her own. Nonetheless, many customers approach her on their own, mostly boys her age. I suppose this observation also answers, how she was able to win the election, since I doubt, that someone suffering from stage fright like her would be good at giving speeches. Her opponent was Mr. Lorre, if I remember correctly, a quiet but serious and diligent student, who's slightly obese and not very popular among the students.  
I usually wouldn't pay a student so much attention, when I'm overseeing the fundraiser, however Miss Lièvre forces me to, by constantly asking for my help with trivialities. It's truly annoying, how incompetent Miss Lièvre is. The next student, who mans the booth, doesn't annoy me for trivialities, but he's idle, whenever I glance at him. I deliberate, whether I should scold him for lazing around, but his shift should be over soon anyways. As I get more engrossed in my book, I start paying less attention to the students, who are manning the booth.  
"Sir? May I leave a bit earlier?" I unwillingly pause in my reading and glance at the student, who's currently manning the booth. It's Mr. Ray, a Sophomore, and a secretary on the student council. "Why do you want to leave earlier? The next salesperson hasn't arrived yet.", I ask him probingly, after glancing behind him. There's a group of Butterfly Juniors, but none of them belongs to the student council, therefore they don't have to work a shift.  
"Well, it's just about five minutes till the next shift, but I promised these lovely ladies, that I would accompany them.", he replies, while smiling suavely.  
The group of girls start to giggle, when they hear him calling them 'lovely ladies'. Disgraceful. Abandoning your duty to play around with girls. I can't believe someone like him is part of the student council. "Then leave.", I spat out angrily. He hastily bids me goodbye and leaves with the group of girls.

I look at the shifting schedule. Since Mr. Ray's shift ends in a few minutes, it should be around 4 pm. The next student to man the booth is Miss Ojousama, according to the schedule. A moment later, Miss Ojousama already arrived. She must be early. I greet her and return to my corner, to continue reading the book. After finishing a chapter, I glance at Miss Ojousama, to see how she's doing. The sales seem to go well, as the display already looks emptier.  
Miss Ojousama is currently advising an elder lady on what to buy. She appears calm and patient. I assess, that she won't be needing any help and return my focus to my book. As I get engrossed in the book again, I don't pay any attention to the booth anymore.

After reading for a while, I reach the end of the book. To be honest, I didn't expect to be able to finish it today. It was a good book, very interesting indeed. As expected of my favorite author. When I look up from the book, I notice Miss Ojousama, who is already packing up. Wait, wasn't Miss Cochran supposed to man the last shift? "Miss Ojousama? What time is it?", I ask her perplexed, but she doesn't seem to know the time as well. When I look at the other booths, they're already packing up too. Which means, that the last shift was supposed to end half an hour ago. I close my book and stand up to help her packing, when she suddenly starts wobbling. I rush towards her and grab her shoulders to stabilize her, before she crashes headfirst into the candles.  
"Idiot girl! Have you not sat down for all this time?", I angrily scold her. Though her dedication is admirable, but neglecting her needs to stubbornly keep working without rest is downright foolish! "I was occupied…", she tries to defend herself. What a weak excuse. I sigh and my gaze lands on the place, where I sat just a moment ago. I used the second folding chair as well, didn't I? Was she too afraid to ask me for the chair? Ah no, Miss Ojousama doesn't seem to be as afraid of me as most students are. She would dare to approach me on her own after all, and often visits my classes.  
"Well, I can't take you back like this. Someone would assume I'd worked you to the bone on purpose. Come along then." After stuffing the leftover candles in the van, I bring Miss Ojousama to the Glen. Given that she diligently worked for longer than two shifts, she deserves a small treat. Especially, since she did quite a good job as a saleswoman, from what I could see. If only Mr. Ray would have shown the same dedication to his duties as Miss Ojousama has.

In the Glen, I lead her to a small table in a quiet corner. After sitting down, I glance at Miss Ojousama. She seems seriously enthusiastic; her prior tiredness is nearly nowhere to be seen anymore. "Have you been here before?", I suddenly ask her out of curiosity. Since Miss Ojousama is a wild seed, this might be the first time, that she's eating in a restaurant for members of the magical society. "Only once, unfortunately.", she replies.  
It's a pity. Her expression, when she tries magical food for the first time surely would have been- no, what am I thinking? It doesn't matter. "Sit. Say nothing. I will order.", I command her. I order two Chai teas for us. Though Miss Ojousama seems strangely excited, I can still see the fatigue in her eyes and a good Chai is the best for regaining your energy. The Chai of the Glen is brewed with spices from the Otherworld, which have soothing and relaxing effects.  
I often order the Chai, since it's good against my chronical headache caused by the unreasonable behavior of my adventurous and naïve students.

After the Chai teas arrive, I observe how Miss Ojousama carefully and slowly takes a sip. "Mhhmm, delicious.", she sighs pleased. I'm glad she likes it.  
"It's Chai.", I inform her, in case she doesn't know. I grab my own cup and slowly lift it towards my lips, when she suddenly says, "Thank you very much for treating me, Sir." She seems earnest, when giving her thanks, just like she did, when she apologized to me for bumping into me on the Dark Dance.  
Though Miss Ojousama acts a bit weird from time to time, she is well-mannered.  
"It shouldn't have been necessary, if you had any sense.", I scold her in return nonetheless. Fatigue of the mind is extremely dangerous for a witch.  
Not paying attention to your state of mind can easily end deadly for a witch, there are enough cases of dead witches to prove that.  
It was truly foolish of her to overwork herself to such an extent. "I suppose, I should be thankful you didn't simply lock your knees and faint.", I add, while softening my tone a bit, when I see her sulking. Well, in the end nothing happened, so this much of a warning should be enough. I brought her here to relax after all. I turn my attention back to my cup and continue drinking my Chai.  
Thankfully, Miss Ojousama is not trying to do brainless smalltalk with me and I can enjoy my Chai peacefully. I prefer silence over half-baked attempts at conversation at any time. This is especially so, since I had this recurring nightmare last night again. In most nights, I sleep fitfully, sometimes to the point, where I wake up multiple times during the night due to nightmares. Nights, in which I would be sound asleep on the other hand, were rare at the beginning, but they have increased over the years. I usually sleep soundly after drinking the Chai of the Glen, which is another reason, as to why I order this so often.

Suddenly I notice Miss Ojousama's gaze on me. When I return her gaze, she averts her eyes, appearing a bit shy and flustered. It's the first time, that I see her acting shy. I wonder what she thought, when she looked at me. It's strange. I usually don't care about how my students see me. It's fine, if they fear or hate me. So long as they listen and don't take my words lightly. As I continue to observe her, her gaze returns to me for a short moment, before she starts staring at her cup. She's so weird, in an intriguing way. But in the end, she's only a student of mine. Trying to get to know her would be improper.  
I shift my attention back to my own cup and quietly finish drinking my Chai. Afterwards, the waiter brings us the dessert, a piece of strawberry-candy, which is a specialty of the Glen. I finish the piece of candy and pay. "Let's go back." Miss Ojousama nods obediently and we leave.

While I'm driving the van back to the Academy, Miss Ojousama suddenly starts softly humming a melody. I glance at her. She's absentmindedly gazing out of the window and smiling slightly. It's not the first time I witness her humming a song, but this time the melody seems familiar. What was it… Ah, it's 'Bolero', isn't it? A good piece of music, but I didn't expect her to know such classical music.

 _After turning around the corner, I come across another trap, but I dismantle it easily, using a combination of red and blue magic. Once I cleared the way, I head to the pedestal at the end of the hallway. After reaching the pedestal, I stare in awe at the book lying atop. This is it. This is the legendary book 'The Book of true Lies', the most famous book about blue magic. The knowledge in this book is priceless as even creating your own dimension is possible with the methods described in this book. Many tried to find a copy of this book, but no one succeeded until now. Most people already regarded it as lost forever. I carefully lift the book up. Gosh, I can't wait to read it.  
I'm comfortably lying on a picnic blanket in the middle of a flower field, engrossed in reading the book of true lies. There's a light breeze and the sun is warmly shining. It's wonderful. "Haah.", I hear someone contently sighing beside me. I turn to the noise. Miss Ojousama is lying next to me on the picnic blanket, holding a cup of milk tea in her hands. "Miss Ojousama, what the hell are you doing here?", I scold her. She gazes at me strangely. "You were the one, who told me to relax.", she pouts. Before I can retort anything, she suddenly points behind me. "Look." I turn around. Strawberries are suddenly raining down next to our picnic blanket, from a fluffy blue cloud. Weird, just a moment ago, the sky was still clear. Miss Ojousama stands up and heads to the strawberry rain, in order to catch a few strawberries and eat them. I sigh and cast a shield on top of the blanket, to shield it from the strawberry rain, in case it starts raining down here as well. Then I continue reading the book of true lies.  
_What the… That was one hell of a weird dream. This is the last time, that I order a Chai, while in company.

The next day, I come across Miss Cochran in the library. "Ah, Miss Cochran. A moment of your time?", I ask her. "Of course, Sir. What is it?", she asks me, obviously confused as to why I want to talk to her. "I haven't seen you manning the booth yesterday. Could it be, that you asked Miss Ojousama to take over your shift for you?", I ask her straightforwardly. "Ah, yes. I'm sorry, Sir. I had another appointment, which is why Miss Ojousama agreed to man the booth for me. Did she do anything wrong?", Miss Cochran replies, appearing slightly nervous for some reason. It's disappointing, that Miss Cochran neglected her duties for that 'appointment'. Given her nervousness, it probably wasn't anything important. Miss Cochran has been very diligent till now, which makes it more disappointing, that she pushed her responsibility onto Miss Ojousama. "Miss Ojousama did nothing wrong. She turned out to be a superb saleswoman and diligently fulfilled her duty. Anyways, that is all, what I wanted to know. Good day to you, Miss Cochran.", I bid her goodbye and turn to the bookshelves, to find another book from the same author. While searching, I notice Miss Ojousama sitting in a corner of the library and scribbling on a notepad. Seeing her, reminds me of the weird dream I had. I shake off the memory and continue browsing through the books.

On Tuesday, we hold the Thanksgiving ceremony and sent the tribute. This year, the student body managed to amass quite a large tribute, the tribal councils will be pleased. I use the short vacation following Thanksgiving to finish the book I borrowed on Sunday. Since most students returned to their parents' home during the vacation, the Academy is unusually quiet. It's the perfect atmosphere for reading.  
To be honest, I wish reading was the only thing I did during the vacation. But exams are coming up, so I had to prepare for that as well. I'll be overseeing the exam for the freshmen again, together with Petunia.

I'm curious to see, how the students will fare. I doubt, that Miss Ojousama will manage to impress me again, but I'm especially interested in her performance nonetheless. This time, the students must find their way out of a simple labyrinth. Most students solve this by wandering around more or less aimlessly and casting Truesight from time to time. After the current participant, Miss Middleton, it'll be Miss Ojousama's turn. Miss Middleton found the passage with the illusion using Breeze, as expected. However, after she found the passage with the deadlock, she simply stares at the walls for a while. What is she doing? Why isn't she using Truesight? Miss Middleton starts touching the walls, but still refrains from using Truesight. Suddenly, Miss Middleton starts sprinting towards the wall with the illusion. What the hell is she thinking?! If that wall weren't an illusion, her action would have caused her a severe concussion!  
I immediately teleport Miss Middleton into the classroom, from which I observe the exam, after she passed the illusionary wall. "What the hell have you been thinking?!", I angrily yell at her. She just stares at me confused. "I… I ... I found the illusion… and I…", she stutters.  
"Jumping in full speed against a wall is NOT a proper way to determine, whether that wall is an illusion or not, Miss Middleton!", I continue scolding her enraged. "But… But I found the exit, didn't I?", she stubbornly retorts. "You found the exit, but you failed the exam. Next time, try to use your head for thinking, and not for ramming it against walls. Dismissed.", I hiss. She dejectedly leaves.  
Seriously though, what a disappointment. I expected more of Miss Middleton, she always seemed so careful.  
Anyways, Miss Ojousama is next. She decided to use quite an unusual approach: she dimmed all of her senses, except for her sense of smell and then simply followed her nose. She's not the first to use that kind of approach, but it is an approach rarely used. And her execution of this approach is also quite good, she seems to have some talent in green magic as well. After she found the passage with the exit, she skillfully dismantles the illusion with a double-casting of Truesight. A simple Breeze-spell would have used up less concentration than her approach with the green magic, but it's ok, since she managed to succeed nonetheless. Still, she should take more care of her mental capacities, especially after what had transpired after the fundraiser.  
The next participant is Miss Sato. She magnificently flunked the last exam, so I'm curious to see how she will fare this time. Miss Sato casts white magic again, but I'm not quite sure, what she's trying to do. Suddenly she stops her casting and determinedly starts walking into the direction of the exit.  
After arriving in the passage with the hidden exit, she clumsily dismantles the illusion. Though it's clear to see, that her skills in blue magic are lacking, she somehow managed to dissolve the illusion and therefore passed the exam.  
It's surprising, that Miss Middleton failed, while Miss Sato succeeded.  
Anyways, Miss Sato seems to be quite talented in white magic, but lacking in the other magic types. This is problematic, since white magic has a relatively low offensive ability, while the spirit realm, the forte of white magicians, is a dangerous place. It's important for white magicians to be versatile in the other colors as well, since the strength of white magic mostly lies in its combination possibilities with the other magic colors. This is probably also the reason as to why Petunia wanted to personally oversee Miss Sato's detention. She must have recognized Miss Sato's talent at that time. As Petunia is an expert in white magic, while it's my least favorite color due to that incident, I decide to leave it to Petunia. She will hopefully know how to properly deal with Miss Sato's talent.

On Tuesday, Petunia approaches me after lunch. It has been some time, till she last annoyed me with her love-crap, but I'm wary nonetheless. "Hieronymous? A moment of your time?", she asks me sweetly. "What is it?", I reply curtly. "Do you still remember Miss Silva? She's an important guest of mine and wanted to visit the Mt. Kearsarge Indian museum. Could you accomp-" "No.", I interrupt her. "But-" "No.", I repeat. "If that is all, I'd like to excuse myself. My next lecture will begin shortly." "…Yes.", Petunia relents. I ignore her disappointed gaze and head to my classroom. The following days, I go out of my way to avoid Petunia, in case she wants to annoy me with that topic again.

I'm on my way to breakfast, with a good book under my arms. Today is Friday the 13th, a lucky day for members of the magical society.I naturally don't believe in such superstitions; however, I did sleep well this night. Since I slept soundly, I woke up early, therefore the cafeteria is still empty. Perfect.  
I grab a plate of omelet and sit down on my favorite spot, a seat close to the window, in the corner of the room. The light shines from the window down on my table, without blinding me. This is the reason as to why I like this spot so much, it's the perfect spot for reading. I half-heartedly start eating.  
Though I usually wake up early, I'm often not very hungry in the morning. Additionally, this book is extremely interesting, it was hard to stop reading yesterday and head to bed instead. After a few bites, I give up and read the book instead.  
Suddenly I hear a quite chuckle. I look up from my book, and my gaze meets Miss Ojousama's eyes. She immediately turns her gaze away, towards the window and starts acting innocent. I purse my lips, amused at her crappy acting skills. There was no maliciousness in her laughter, but I wonder what it was, that amused her. "You seem to be in an extremely good mood this morning, Miss Ojousama.", I tease her dryly. She turns back to me and replies smiling, "Today is Friday the 13th, Sir. It's a lucky day." I raise an eyebrow, as I was not expecting her to even know about this belief, not to mention also believing in it.  
How surprisingly gullible of her. "You believe in such things?", I question her. She stares at me confused, while tilting her head.  
"It's just superstition?", she counter-asks surprised. I snort. "Of course it is, how could all magical beings be lucky at the same time?"  
"My last Friday the 13th was a lucky day though? You apologized to me and even gave me merits. That's why I thought, it might be more than superstition. It's hard to tell for a wild seed…", she explains to me, while smiling confidently. The prior confusion is nowhere to be seen anymore. Well, our customs indeed seem to confuse the wild seeds and consequently, they're often more gullible than other witches. "I see.", I reply, before turning back to my book. For some reason, Miss Ojousama doesn't annoy me as much as the other students do. I guess it's because she has a somewhat soothing atmosphere due to her calmness. She's simply not as noisy as other teenagers tend to be.

The next morning, I wake up early even for my standards. When I look outside, it's snowing heavily. The snow spirits must be running wild for some reason. Under such weather conditions, the trip to the mall will be impossible. It's better, if the students hear about this earlier, as they will be a bit less disappointed that way. I sigh, get dressed and head towards the post office.  
When I enter, Miss Ojousama is already preparing the envelopes, while humming a weird song. "Ah, Miss Ojousama." I didn't expect her to be here already. Most treasurers usually start their duties later. Miss Ojousama freezes in her action and then slowly turns to me. She seems surprised for a short moment, before calmly greeting me. "I need to add a notice to all students that outings to the mall are cancelled.", I explain to her. "Due to the snowstorm, I assume. We won't be able to buy our Secret Santa presents…" "That is not my concern. Good day.", I bid her goodbye and leave. I'm not interested in this stupid event of Petunia, and I'm even less interested in acting chummy with a student.  
While walking towards the cafeteria, I halt and gaze at the snowstorm outside. Though it's a needless event, I should still inform Petunia about the snowstorm. She might think of an alternative in due time, if I do.

Contrary to my expectations, Petunia took some time, until she thought of making cards as an alternative for her Secret Santa-event. To be honest, I don't get how anyone would be pleased by getting a crappy card from a student, who was even forced to make said card to begin with. Since it is a compulsory event, the honesty in making these cards can only be described as half-baked. A true gift is not given out of a sense of duty. That is the main reason, as to why I don't think much of Petunia's Secret Santa event.  
Nonetheless, Petunia forces me to attend this event as some sort of supervisor. Why she does that is beyond me, as I lack artistical sense, when it comes to crafting. I'm good at creating illusions, not crafting. Most students also seem to suck at crafting, as they struggle with keeping their uniforms clean of glitter and glue. Gosh, I'm thankful the staff doesn't have to participate in this Secret Santa-thing as well.  
In the afternoon, Petunia approaches me again. I prepare myself to shut down any ridiculous proposal she might have come up with this time, but instead she hands me a card. I stare down at the card in my hands, confused as to why she gave it to me. It's a white card with books and pink glitter on it. Ugh, glitter.  
I hate glitter. "What is this supposed to be?", I interrogate her harshly. This is some kind of weird trick, isn't it? Petunia giggles. "Isn't it obvious, Hieronymous? It's your Secret Santa.", she replies cheerfully and then turns around and leaves. Dread fills me, as I slowly open the card.

 _Dear Hieronymous,_

 _Thank you for working here for another year again. It's always a pleasure working with you._

 _\- your Secret Santa._

I guess, I was too wary. Wait, there's another note at the end.

 _PS: I registered you for this year's Christmas party for Singles in the Glen. Don't forget to attend!_

That damned old hag! Will she never learn it?! I'm not fucking interested in finding a partner!

Apparently, a package has arrived for me. I have enchanted the post office to notify me, or the lion on my door to be more precise, if there are any letters or the like for me. Last night was one of these nights, where I suffered from that recurring nightmare, so I'm in a bad mood, when I had down to the post office. While cursing my father in my mind, I rummage through the packages. While I'm searching, Miss Ojousama enters, but I ignore her. Finally, I found the package my father sent me and head back. Turns out it is a book about contracting a Manus and how to deal with one. What the hell. I have no use for that, why did my father sent this?

In the evening, Petunia assembles the students in the gym again, to bid them goodbye for the holydays. She really likes gathering the students and giving speeches to them. Like always, she ends her speech by casting a complex white magic spell, which connects those people in the gym, who are thinking about each other. I close my eyes like the rest, while I feel myself relaxing due to Petunia's spell.  
Suddenly Miss Ojousama comes to my mind. I felt similar relaxed, when we were at the Glen together. She did quite a good job at that fundraiser that time. I suddenly feel a slight connection to her. What the hell?! I snort and cut the connection immediately off. How weird, to think about your teacher in such a situation. She has friends after all, hasn't she?


	39. Chapter 39: Extra - Grabby-POV 3

Extra: Grabiner-POV: Trust and Betrayel

* * *

Three days later, I'm enjoying the peace and quiet of the Academy, while reading a good book in the library, when Petunia suddenly approaches me. "Hieronymous, may I have a moment of your time?", she asks me. "It depends. Is it about that Christmas party or any other stupid event?", I reply, without looking up from my book. "No…", she answers. Suspicious. But she is the headmistress after all. "What is it?", I ask and look up from my book.  
"I wonder, what do you think about Miss Ojousama?" Miss Ojousama? How did it come to this topic?  
"She's a good student, diligent and intelligent. Why, did something happen?" "Oh no, nothing happened.", Petunia answers.  
"But I meant, what do you think of her as a person, not as a student.", she adds, while gazing at me questioningly.  
"I fail to see how that would be of any importance, since she IS, after all, my STUDENT.", I reply, while narrowing my eyes.  
"Ohohoh. No need to get so defensive, Hieronymous.", she replies giggling. Did her brain finally melt? I always knew, the day would come, that she would completely go insane. "You might consider paying a visit to the Melania's Garden of Peace. It's winter vacation after all.", I dryly remark, while grabbing my book, before leaving promptly. Melania's Garden of Peace is a famous institution run by a skilled white witch, who is helping members of the magical society to deal with psychological issues, such as anxiety attacks. Petunia had also tried to send me there, after that incident happened. I refused to go, of course.

After that weird conversation, Petunia stopped annoying me about those stupid matchmaking events. On the one hand, I'm relieved about that, but on the other I'm wary about what she might be planning now. Well, whether she finally has given up or not, it doesn't matter. She can't force me to do something I don't want to do after all.

The next day, another package arrives for me. This time it's a link to a Manus belonging to my family, with a note from my father, telling me to contract the Manus as eirs direct lord. Apparently, it is necessary for me, to have a Manus directly bound to me, if I want to inherit father's position. Of course, I'm not interested in inheriting father's position. I'd like to simply send the Manus back to him, but, according to the letter, unfortunately I don't have any choice. Father's position can't be left empty and in addition is bound by our family's blood and since I have no siblings, I must inherit his title sooner or later.  
I hope it's going to be 'later'. I could delay the binding of the Manus of course, but that would be irresponsible. Though I hate it, I decide to discuss the ritual with Petunia and start reading the book.

Winter vacation doesn't last for long, unfortunately. Soon, the students returned and the hallways are noisy again. Well, not all students returned. Two freshmen dropped out during the vacation. One had broken a promise he made towards his childhood friend and therefore lost his magic. The other student didn't want to lose her non-magical friends. It's a pity, but it often happens with wild seeds. They simply have too many connections to the non-magical world, becoming a full-fledged member of magical society is more difficult for them.  
There's another exam at the end of the week and I will naturally oversee the exam for the freshmen again. I'm competent enough to teach the higher grades as well, however I prefer being in charge of the freshmen, though they are more difficult to handle. The exams mostly went smoothly, with one exception.  
Miss Sato thought it to be wise, to cast empathy on the Hodag. How disappointing. And here I thought, Petunia would properly take care of this troublesome student, but she let me down yet again. I truly don't know, why I keep trusting this untrustworthy, irresponsible old witch. Well, I won't make the same mistake again, this time I'll be the one overseeing Miss Sato's detention.

On my way to class during a break, I come across a suspicious acting Mr. Ramsey. He seems to be eavesdropping on someone else. I consider reproaching him for that, but decide against it. I don't want to meddle with the private life of my students too much. Though I decided against meddling with Mr. Ramsey's private life, I can't help but feel disturbed about his behavior lately. He's often acting suspiciously, by hiding in corners and what not. Due to this, I grew more aware of his presence. After observing him for a while, I come to the conclusion, that something must have happened between him and Miss Ojousama. I don't see the two interacting, but whenever he's acting suspicious, Miss Ojousama is near. He seems to be observing her. I feel deeply disturbed by this.  
Maybe I should inform Petunia about that.

"Hieronymous… Are you jealous? You're thinking too much into it. If Mr. Ramsey is truly harassing Miss Ojousama, I'm sure she would come to you to complain about that.", Petunia replies giggling. Useless! She's so useless! Dammit. I angrily stomp away, unwilling to let myself insulted by her any further.  
Let's go read, to calm down.  
Ah, come to think of it, I forgot my book in the classroom. I sigh and head back to the classroom, to retrieve it. When I open the door to the classroom I freeze in shock. Miss Ojousama is standing there, leaning back with her arms placed on my desk, while Mr. Ramsay is standing close to her, stroking her cheek and kissing her deeply. How dare they do this in my classroom! And to think, that Miss Ojousama is in such a relationship with… Mr. Ramsay. Disgraceful! Utterly disappointing!  
I cough, to stop the two lovebirds from doing what they're currently doing. Mr. Ramsey clicks his tongue rudely and steps away, but starts glaring at me angrily instead. HOW DARE HE?! I'm the one, who's angry! "I don't remember giving you permission to use this room as your 'little love nest', Mr. Ramsay.", I scold him coldly, with clear disdain in my voice. Miss Ojousama, who's been frozen till now, suddenly straightens her back and smooths down her robe, before stepping in front of Mr. Ramsay – and resoundingly slaps his face. Wait, what?  
Perplexed by the new development of the situation, I silently stare at her, while she strengthens her arm with green magic, and slaps him again, this time leaving a clear red mark on his face. Mr. Ramsey seems as confused by this situation as I am, as he doesn't try to dodge the slap and simply stares at her surprised. "Lesson number 1, if you want to become a decent human be… uh… person, don't kiss people against their will", she scolds him flustered, before bidding me goodbye and storming off. After Miss Ojousama left, I snap out of it. "Twenty-five demerits and detention!", I yell at Mr. Ramsey enraged.  
To think this piece of trash sexually harassed Miss Ojousama…! Furthermore, in my classroom! I'd really like to teach him a lesson about basic decency.  
A long and violent one. "Twenty-five demerits? Isn't that a bit too much, for just a little kiss?", Mr. Ramsey retorts, while smiling provocatively. "You're lucky I'm not expelling you.", I hiss in response. We glare at each other for a moment, until Mr. Ramsey snorts scornfully and leaves. Despicable brat. I grab the book on my desk and try to find Petunia again. This time, she would surely listen to me. He was sexually harassing her this time after all.

"Back again so soon?", she greets me teasingly. "You don't seem to have calmed down yet though?"  
"I just witnessed Mr. Ramsey kissing Miss Ojousama against her will. Please tell me, that you'll expel him.", I reply, while ignoring her teasing.  
"Hm. It's worthy being punished, but expelling him would be too severe I'm afraid.", she answers at least somewhat serious. I click my tongue in disappointment. "Too severe? Then what about Miss Ojousama? Isn't it our DUTY to PROTECT our students?! Mr. Ramsey is clearly a threat for her! He showed no regret for his action at all! Instead, he even glared at me! And complained about me interrupting them! He clearly lacks respect for this institution, how can you allow him to continue being here, Petunia?", I scold her angrily. "Oh, but he might have thought, that Miss Ojousama would consent to the kiss. His actions deserve punishment, nonetheless, expelling him seems too harsh. I'm sorry, Hieronymous, but I will stand by this point."  
Could this woman be any more disappointing?! "Besides, it'll be easier to keep an eye on him, if he stays at the Academy.", Petunia suddenly adds quietly, with a strangely serious expression. Still, I'm dissatisfied with her decision.  
"Anyways, about that Manus that you wanted to contract… I think tonight would be a good time for that. Don't you agree? You have finished your preparations after all, haven't you, Hieronymous?", Petunia asks me out of the blue. "Ah? Ah, yes, I suppose.", I answer, confused about the sudden change of topic.  
I nearly forgot about that thing. "Yes, tonight would be perfect.", Petunia mumbles with a strange glint in her eyes.  
Sometimes, she's quite weird and hard to read.

In the evening, I go to the post office and ready the room for the ritual. According to Petunia, the post office is the most suitable place for the ritual, as the border between this dimension and the one, in which the Manus resides, is the thinnest here. Therefore, summoning the Manus will be easier here. To be honest, I don't see how this place is better than any other, but then again I'm not as good in white magic as Petunia is.  
The ritual itself is quite complex and I have never done such a contract, so I'm thankful for everything, that eases the process. After I have drawn the pentagram, which will contain the Manus, I step inside and put the link between this dimension and the Manus I'm about to contract in the center of it. Since the Manus is contracted to my family already, e can't harm me. Then I take a deep breath and start activating the link with the method described in the book. Just activating the link is more complicated than I anticipated. I'm already getting a headache; however, I won't falter from just that much. The link starts glowing and a small crack appears above the link. The first step will be completed any moment now… The crack widens and tears the fabric of this reality apart. A blue hand appears from the crack, then another hand and finally, the Manus steps out. Good, now to the binding part. I continue the ritual and start binding the Manus. Just a little more… Suddenly, my vision darkens.

 **Potsdam POV**

As expected, Hieronymous took the bait and nearly completed the ritual, despite it draining all his mental capacity. It's just like him, to have too much pride to stop in the middle. One day, his pride will certainly be his downfall. A magician should always pay attention to eirs mental capacity after all.  
If he weren't so prideful, he might have questioned himself, as to why this first part already took so much of his energy. But he didn't, and therefore didn't realize, that I had strengthened the barrier between the two dimension in this room a bit, so that he will pass out. Now, that he's fast asleep, keeping him from waking up is child's play for me. Having prepared everything, I take another look at the scene of Hieronymous lying on the floor with the Manus floating above menacingly. Well, e looks more confused than threateningly right now, but that doesn't matter. So long as e doesn't leave - which e won't, since e has to protect the Grabiners and therefore must stay to make sure, that Hieronymous is alright - everything should be settled. Ok, just move Hieronymous' arm a little here and his legs a bit there…. Perfect! Now it looks so much more dramatic! Having finished my preparations – without actually taking a single step into the post office, of course – I head to Horse Hall. All what's left is to cast a hidden shield around the soul of the damsel, who'll save the distressed knight, and then wait for the morning to come. Ah, I can't wait to see it happen! Maybe I should get some popcorn…

 **Hieronymous POV**

A dull pain suddenly spreads in my stomach and I feel a grip around my shoulders for a short moment. What the hell is going on? "… not touch that child!", I can hear Petunia yell. It's kind of hard to understand her, as I'm still feeling dizzy. I try to sit up and open my eyes flutteringly. Where am I? What happened again? "She's my rightful prey.", I hear someone reply to Petunia. Wait, prey?! "She is… of the house of Grabiner.", Petunia responds reluctantly.  
My gaze shoots to where the unknown voice came from. The Manus is hovering there, his hand grasping… Miss Ojousama's neck. NO!  
"She is his affianced bride, whom he has pledged to marry this very day!", Petunia declares. No…! But, dammit, there is no other way… F**K. "… It is so sworn.", I solemnly say. The Manus hisses, but releases Miss Ojousama's neck and returns to his dimension. If only he could have appeared as easily as he disappeared. Miss Ojousama gasps and takes a deep breath, while touching the fingerprints the Manus left behind on her neck.  
Seeing her hurt, suddenly awakens my rage for her foolishness. "You absolute imbecile!", I yell at her. WHY IS SHE HERE? How could she enter the pentagram, when there was a Manus inside! Disappointing! Truly disappointing! I thought, she was a clever witch, so why did she have to act so stupid! Just a moment later and she would have... "Not here, Hieronymous.", Petunia tries to interfere. "Do you know, what you've done?", I ask her, while ignoring Petunia. Miss Ojousama could have died! "She was trying to save your life. Surely you wouldn't want her to lose her soul for such an act.", Petunia tries to sooth me. But I never wanted her to risk her life for me! Why did she have to act so stupid and rush into the pentagram? "I'm not sure this is an improvement.", I snap back at Petunia. "I'm sorry…", Miss Ojousama sobs, her cheeks wet from tears. Seeing her in this state pricks my heart. "In the future, Miss Ojousama, you should learn not to meddle with things you do not understand!", I scold her harshly. To think, that I could've been the reason for her death… No. This situation is unacceptable. I want to continue on my rant, and make her understand just how big her mistake was, but Petunia stops me, "Not here, please. We should speak away from the watch. I will take her away and explain. See you at noon?" Goddammit, this can't be happening. "As I appear to have little choice.", I hiss. I can't bear to see her any longer anyways. While Petunia leaves with Miss Ojousama, I start cleaning up the mess. Why are there marbles lying around here?

After I have cleaned up the post office, I return to my room, to prepare for… my wedding. I can't believe I'm about to marry a student. This is the worst!  
I reluctantly open my wardrobe and take out a festive robe in dark red with gold embroidery and a green hem. I throw the clothes on the bed and stare at them. Dammit, I can't do this. I can't marry a student! Ah, but I have to. Dammit! I pace around the room, unable to calm down. This won't do.  
I teleport myself into one of the Academy's dungeons, a small one, which isn't used normally, and start exploding the walls in an angry rage.

A while later, I'm lying on the floor and panting heavily. The dungeon looks like a warzone, with craters and brand marks all over the place.  
It's about time soon. I sigh and teleport myself back into my room. I take a short shower and then start the ritual of repeatedly cleansing my hands, in preparation for the ceremony. Afterwards I get dressed and head to the dungeon, in which the ceremony is held. When I arrive, Petunia, Miss Ojousama and our witness, Miss Cochran are already there. Miss Cochran should be a good choice for the role of the witness, but I would have preferred another professor over a student as a witness. Miss Ojousama is standing with her back to me, wearing a white dress, which compliments her silhouette.  
Suddenly, I have a lump in my throat, and I cough to clear it. Miss Ojousama slowly turns around and gazes at me for a moment. She seems calm and I'm unable to read her expression. I wonder, what she's thinking right now, that she sees me, her future "husband". Her gaze returns to Petunia, who in turn claps her hands. "Shall we begin?"  
"Just get done with it.", I grunt, more to encourage myself, than to reply to Petunia. "Come and stand with me then." I walk side by side with Miss Ojousama towards Petunia, with a wedding basket in my hand. The basket contains a tree branch, as a symbol for the protection I'm about to offer her. The branch is from a hazel tree, as my second offer to her will be my wisdom. At least Petunia has chosen the correct gift for me. I hate to admit it, but she's a skilled wedding organizer, especially given how little time she had to prepare this. As for Miss Ojousama, her basket contains an ear of corn… there's no way she is going to offer me her fertility, and I doubt, that she has the financial means to offer me prosperity, therefore her ear of corn should symbolize her kindness and courage.  
We arrive in front of Petunia, and she begins the wedding speech. Gosh, it's a long speech. That's what I hate about weddings, they're needlessly long and boring. We finally reach the part of the gifts exchange, and Miss Ojousama offers me her kindness and courage, as expected. "I give to you my wisdom and my protection.", I solemnly offer her in return. Petunia and Miss Cochran step forward, in order to bind our fates together, by draping the ribbons over our hands. And with this, I'll have to endure the shame of being married to my student for a year and a day. This is going to be a long year.  
"You may now kiss the bride.", Petunia adds. Wait, I think that part is not necessary? "Is that strictly necessary?", I question her with furrowed eyebrows. "Well, no.", she replies. Then why bother bringing it up? "Then I have no intention of demeaning myself.", I retort irritated. Kissing a student of mine against her will… Disgraceful! "Well then, I see you in a year for the severance.", I turn to Miss Ojousama, while smiling grimly to make it clear, that our relationship will be in name only. I seriously wouldn't be able to take it, if she suddenly tries to act like my wife. The thought alone is enough to make me feel sick.  
"I will still visit your classes though, Sir?", she retorts undisturbed. I can't help but admire her calmness amidst this dire situation a bit, though her reaction to this mess is extremely inappropriate. I was about to reproach her about taking this whole situation too lightly, when Petunia suddenly scolds me teasingly about being cruel to my "wife". Too cruel? It would be crueler, if I let her misunderstand our current relationship. The thought of her tearfully trying to like me and build a "relationship" with me, sickens me. It's better if I break the delusions she must have as a young student, in addition a wild seed, about marriage now. Petunia invites us to a dinner in the Glen, but I'm not in the mood for food, especially not in the presence of my newlywed "wife". After lecturing Miss Ojousama about the nature of our new relationship again, I return to my rooms. At least this farce of a wedding is finally over.

" _Sir, I brought you your breakfast." I sit up and stare at Elise, who's standing beside my bed, with a tray in her hand and tears in her eyes. "What are you doing here? You have no business here!", I scold her angrily. Elise silently starts crying, without moving, and I suddenly notice a chain around her neck. "Who did that to you?", I ask her harshly, while standing up. However, as soon as I approach her, she fearfully takes a step back. I stiffen and take another step towards her, but she moves away again. "You… you did that to me, Sir!", she sobs and the tray slides out of her hands. "YOU DID THAT TO ME! YOU DID! IT'S YOUR FAULT!", she hysterically cries, while frantically wiping her tears with the back of her hands. "YOUR FAULT! YOUR FAULT! YOUR FAULT!" "No, I didn't…", I mumble aghast. "Shall I silence her for you, Master?" Suddenly Elise is lifted up by a blue hand wrapped around her neck. Elise violently gasps for breath, while desperately trying to escape the Manus' grasp. She's gazing into my eyes, with obvious fear. Not fear of the Manus, who's clutching her neck, but fear of me, eirs Master._ I wake up, with my heart still pounding from the weird nightmare. What the hell…

The next day, I hole myself up in my room, refusing to go out, not even for food. Instead, I simply teleport a few pieces of bread, fruits and the like directly from the kitchen into my living quarters. It's not that I'm afraid of meeting … _her_ , but I'm simply not in the mood to meet anybody. Though I do admit, that she's the person I want to see the least.

I wouldn't mind staying in my living quarters, away from everyone else, for a bit longer, however I have classes to teach on Monday. Hopefully, I don't come across her. To my relief, she doesn't attend any classes of mine. In addition, I somehow manage to not cross paths with her in the hallways as well. The next day, it's the same. Is she avoiding me on purpose? It would make sense for her not wanting to see me as well. I don't know, whether it's on purpose or not, but I'm thankful, that I don't have to meet her. The next time I see her is actually on Thursday, when she nearly collided with me, after I entered the classroom. She seems panicked and seems to have been on her way out. So she really did avoid me on purpose. "Class is about to start. Sit down.", I command her. It's bad, if it gets too obvious, that she's avoiding me. She obediently sits down and I start class. However, I can't help but be irritated by her presence, as it reminds me of the incident with the Manus.

"Hieronymous? May I have a word with you?", Petunia chirps, as she sits down in front of me. I'm currently in the cafeteria, eating dinner. "What is it?", I ask her. "I think it's better, if we discuss that in my office.", Petunia replies evasively. I narrow my eyes and stare at her. I hope this is not going to be a waste of my time. After dinner, I follow Petunia to her office. "Now, what is it, that you wanted to talk about, Petunia?", I ask her straight after sitting down.  
"About Ms. Grabiner…", she begins, but I interrupt her, "I don't want to talk about her." "I just wanted to remind you, that what happened is not her fault. There is no reason to scorn her.", she counters softly. I'm not blaming her for the incident, I'm angry at her, because she could have died! Risking her life was foolish, whether she meant to save me or not doesn't matter. "I do not scorn her, I simply don't want to talk to her.", I retort.  
"Well, if you just need some time adjusting, then that's fine. However, you can't run away from her any longer. She's the treasurer after all and Valentine's day is coming up. I was afraid, you would ditch your duty and keep avoiding her, but since you said yourself, that you don't scorn her, then I guess there's no need for me to worry.", Petunia replies relieved. For some reason, I feel played.  
"Oh, by the way, about the Manus…" "I will NOT try that again, not after what happened to… her.", I retort vehemently. "But you must, Hieronymous, we both know that. Don't worry though, I found an even better location for the ritual and it's difficult to access the place, you won't have to worry about any stray students trying to save you." What the hell?! "Why didn't you tell me about that place beforehand?", I question her angrily.  
Petunia smiles at me compassionately. "I didn't know about that place beforehand. Besides, I never expected this to turn out the way it did. Sometimes, catastrophes happen, Hieronymous. It's nobody's fault. In the end, we should be glad, that it didn't turn out worse." I raise an eyebrow at her. "How could it possibly have turned out worse?", I ask her sarcastically. "Ms. Ojousama-Grabiner could have died. Or you could have been forced to marry someone else. Aren't you glad, that you had to marry her, and not another student?" I narrow my eyes, and retort menacingly, "What do you mean by that?", my voice sounding dangerously low. Petunia simply laughs cheerfully in return. "Hieronymous, are you trying to threaten me? For stating the truth? You can't threaten me, you should know that. You're a hundred years too early to threaten me after all." I grit my teeth in anger, unable to refute her. It's vexing, but I know, that I'm still a little child in her eyes. "Anyways, about that ritual. I suggest doing it tomorrow, after you have discussed everything with your cute little wife. Any objections?" "No.", I force myself to say through gritted teeth. "Then that is all. Enjoy the rest of your evening.", Petunia dismisses me with a wink. Sometimes, I could strangle here, despite everything that she did for me in the past.

Following Petunia's reminder about Valentine's day, I head to the post office the next morning. "Good morning, Sir.", she greets me calmly, without looking up from her work. "I see little, that is good about it.", I retort sarcastically. She only sighs, without minding my provocation further. Though I appreciate her calmness, it also frightens me a bit how she's not intimidated at all by me. If I'm unable to scare her, then how am I going to make her listen to my warnings? Well, for now I should discuss the Valentine's day event with her.  
After listening to me, she immediately informs me of her decisions. I must admit, she's a superb treasurer. She's fast at making decisions, nonetheless her decisions are well thought out, and she seems capable with money. As for Valentine's day, she came up with the interesting proposal to also sell flowers, apart from chocolate. Personally, I don't see the appeal in such public displays of affection, but for those, who are interested in Valentine's day, the flowers should be a good alternative to chocolate. I presume they'll sell well.  
As everything is set, I turn to leave, but as I'm about to head out, she suddenly asks me for a moment of my time. "What is it now?", I ask her. "I'd like to ask a few questions about our… Arrangement." Our arrangement? I don't want to talk about that. Besides, didn't I already explain everything to her?  
"There's nothing to discuss." "May I remind you, that I'm an ignorant wild seed? I don't know about the responsibilities of a magical wife.", she retorts.  
"You are supposed to be a student. You are supposed to be learning. Not trying to get yourself killed and forcing others to waste resources rescuing you. How many times to you expect to be saved?" I certainly don't want her to force herself to act as my "wife". Besides, she's still my student, so she should act accordingly. Furthermore, she should throw away her needless heroism. There's no reason for her to risk her life for mine.  
To begin with, she's a freshman student, there's not much she could do. But more importantly, she seems to attract danger, even without throwing herself into harm's way, which is all the more reason as to why she should behave more carefully. Case in point Mr. Ramsey: not only did this indecent playboy have his eyes on her, he even seemed to have developed an obsession with her. "I'm sorry for my ignorance, Sir. I'm trying to better myself, for example by finding out how to not accidently break my oath. I'm not interested in annoying you, Sir, I simply try to avoid trouble." Right. She just wanted to know about the responsibilities of a magical wife. She is a wild seed after all. "I suppose that is a reasonable request.", I admit. I reluctantly summarize the role of a wife in the magical society for her. I simply loathe the thought, that she might feel herself forced to do anything for me. "And what are your responsibilities, Sir? Can you still call me Miss Ojousama?", she asks me with upturned eyes. I sigh. She noticed. How keen of her. "No, I cannot. You are a member of my family, and I must acknowledge that. Therefore, I prefer to not address you at all.", I explain to her. "I see.", she replies nodding. "My responsibilities are to protect and support you to the best of my ability. I doubt you will notice any difference." Thankfully, she refrains from asking any further questions about our "marriage".  
Talking about this topic irritates me.

Afterwards, I head to the dungeon Petunia told me about to try completing the ritual again. I draw the pentagram on the floor and sigh, before positioning myself in the center. I feel a bit unsettled, probably due to what happened before, so I continue sitting in the center and calming my mind, before starting the ritual. The first part of the ritual, the summoning, proceeds more smoothly this time, just like Petunia said. This place really must be more suited, in addition I'm better prepared this time, since I've done this before. After a while, I manage to finish the ritual, without fainting midway.  
I dismiss the Manus and take a short break to recover, before teleporting myself back into my room. It's a relief, that I finally completed the binding.

One day, Petunia suddenly dragged me into one of the many corners of this Academy, when she came across me. "What the… What is it, Petunia?", I ask her, feeling already annoyed just by seeing her. "I just had to admit Miss Danson to the infirmary. Her old chronical disease acted up.", she informs me solemnly.  
I'm confused. She's the expert in green magic, so why is she telling me this? "That's unfortunate. Especially since the next exam is tomorrow. It's a pity she'll lose this opportunity to test her abilities. However, I'm certain that she'll be alright soon, since she is under your care.", I comment honestly.  
"Miss Danson is the roommate of your wife. She and the other roommate, Miss Middleton, seemed quite upset at discovering Miss Danson in such a dire state.", Petunia mentions with a sigh. And what am I supposed to do with this information? Petunia was always chatty, but she should know by now, that I'm not interested in any kind of gossip.  
"The three of them seem to get along quite well as well…", Petunia adds sorrowfully. I remain quiet, still unsure as to why she's telling me all of this.  
"Maybe you should go and console your wife for a bit? She seems terribly worried about her friend after all.", Petunia suddenly suggests. Oh hell no.  
"And why would I do that? Not to mention, that I'm probably unable to cheer anyone up, how could the person she was forced to marry console her? Also, I have better things to do, than to soothe some student, who worries too much about others and forgets to worry about herself. Why should I waste my time for someone so reckless? If that is all, I'd like to excuse myself. I still need to prepare for tomorrow's exam." Petunia reluctantly bids me goodbye and I continue to walk towards the dungeon. I still need to check on the safety mechanisms. Seriously though, what the hell did that woman expect me to do?  
Maybe she really needs to visit Melania's Garden of peace, she obviously can't think straight anymore.


	40. Chapter 40: Extra - Grabby-POV 4

Extra: Grabiner-POV: Troublesome people everywhere!

* * *

The next day another exam for the freshmen takes place. The first examinee is her. Let's see how she'll do this time. Ah, she found the chest. Alright, her approach at opening is careful and meticulous. I'm satisfied with her performance. Now, that she has managed to open the chest without facing any danger, all what's left to do for her is to find the exit. Wait, what's that? An illusion of a Manus? "Petunia? Why the hell did you add an illusion without telling me? Furthermore, with that motif… how tasteless! Do you truly lack so much decency, that you couldn't choose another image for the illusion?", I berate Petunia via telepathy. "Oh my, Hieronymous. You sound worried. Is it because of your cute wife? But look, she doesn't seem scared at all, there's no need to be anxious about her.", Petunia replies teasingly. Indeed, she already started calmly dissolving the illusion. "Nonetheless, you should have chosen another motif. Your little pranks are truly tasteless as always, Petunia.", I retort stubbornly. How can such an old woman still be that immature? "Don't you want to come over and personally congratulate her for acing her exam?", Petunia asks me. It's no use talking to this woman, so I ignore her obstinately and concentrate on my task instead. A few of the following students failed at safely disarming the chest, but most succeeded. However, only a handful of students managed to dissolve the illusion. Of those, who didn't dissolve the illusion, a few could at least deduct, that the Manus is just an illusion, for example Miss Middleton. I'm a bit disappointed, that Miss Middleton didn't try to dissolve the illusion, even though she should have been able to. Though she is right in that it's better to save your mental capacity in dangerous terrain if possible, but this is an exam after all. It's meant to be challenging on the students' concentration. Well, at least her method of ignoring the illusion didn't endanger her this time.

The next day, I have to supervise detention, this time not only for Mr. Danson, but Miss Danson as well. As Miss Danson forgot to take her medicine, which led to her chronic disease acting up, I give her the task of reading a book about her chronical disease and writing a report about it, containing the symptoms and repercussions of the disease, as well as the means of treatment and its side-effects. Hopefully, Miss Danson will take her condition more seriously in the future. As for Mr. Danson, I simply hang him up. I'm simply too fed up with him and his pranks, to think of a more adequate, educational punishment.

On Monday, the Valentine sales take place. I don't pay much attention to this silly event, but it seems, as if the sales are going well this year. The booths selling the Valentines look more crowded than last year. I guess this means, that her idea with the flower valentine was a success.

When I was heading to class on Thursday, I spotted her dragging Mr. Ramsey into a corner of the hallway. What the hell? Why is she approaching him?! Not to mention that he's a bad influence, she was molested by him before! Should I interfere? Ah, but it's not my place to interfere with her private life, unless… Does Mr. Ramsey pose enough of a danger for her? Though I don't know, what his intentions are, given what I know about him… But then again, she shouldn't be so foolish as to fall for whatever Mr. Ramsey is trying to do. Even if she feels something for him, it' not like she could act on it. She's married after all. And I told her about the rules of marriage. I wonder what she feels for him… I don't think she likes him. But maybe she feels attracted to him nonetheless. Most students succumbed to his charm, once he aimed for their affection. No, she is not as foolish as those other students… right? Well, whatever. I still need to prepare for my next lesson.

"And?", Petunia suddenly asks me out of nowhere during dinner. "What do you want?", I growl. Has she forgotten how to communicate? I wasn't using Telepathy on her, so how could I possibly know, what she's asking me? "You don't need to hide it from me… What kind of card did you get? Was it a romantic one?", Petunia jabbers with a big grin on her face. Card? What card? "I still have no clue what you're talking about, Petunia.", I retort annoyed. "I'm talking about your Valentine's card, of course. Surely, your cute little wife sent you one? Don't be shy, tell me all about it! Like, what did she write on it? Did she use this chance to finally confess to you?", Petunia squeaks delighted, while she's trapped in her own delusions again. Seriously though, this woman… "Why would I get a Valentine's card from my wife-IN-NAME-ONLY? To announce to the world, that I'm married? Furthermore, to a STUDENT? Thankfully, Miss- she is not as absurd and thoughtless as you are, otherwise the secret might have already leaked…" "Ah, secret love… How romantic…", Petunia whispers with dreamy eyes. For once I'm glad, that she's so easily distracted by her romantic delusions. "Well, if you would excuse me…", I use the short time frame, in which Petunia's mind wanders to unspeakable places, and hurriedly escape towards my room. This woman is my benefactor in many ways, but I simply can't stand her undivided attention for longer than five minutes.

Not long after Valentine's day, the Day of Renewal (the magical equivalent of New Year's Eve) takes place. In order to celebrate this day accordingly, the Academy will perform a New Year's ceremony consisting of a simple ash renewal ritual and a bit of oneiromancy. This is actually one of the simpler forms of a New Year's ceremony, the reason being that this ceremony is the first ritual the seniors will perform. Rituals may seem simple, but small mistakes can have horrible repercussions, therefore only seniors are allowed to lead them. The rest of the student body is restricted to simply participating in the rituals. Thankfully, this year's New Year's ceremony proceeded without a hitch. I still remember the year before last year, where one of the seniors messed up and stirred the ash in the wrong direction, leading to bad memories of the past haunting a part of the student body and the staff. I also suffered from that, by having nightmares as intense again as I had directly after that incident. Just thinking back to this relapse makes me want to strangle the student, who failed the ritual.

On Monday, I witness Mr. Ramsey disappearing into a corner with her again. It bothers me, how much time those two spend together. Especially considering the way Mr. Ramsey tends to gaze at her. His behavior is upsetting and so is the fact, that she doesn't seem to notice the danger he's posing. Normally I wouldn't interfere, but I promised to protect her, therefore, isn't it my duty to set Mr. Ramsey straight for her? Ah, but I really don't want to meddle in the private life of my students and it's not like Mr. Ramsey has done anything. At least for now he hasn't.

I keep pondering over what to do with Mr. Ramsey. I have no reason to punish him, but I also don't want to do nothing. Just as I've been thinking this, I come across a glaring Mr. Ramsey. Speaking of the devil… Furthermore, he dares to glare at me? What a change in attitude, compared to his prior fake-friendliness. To be honest, I prefer glaring over fake-friendliness though. The latter reminds me too much of my father. "Mr. Ramsey, may I have a word?", I ask him, while smiling coldly. The question is naturally only pro forma, it's not like he has the option to decline our little talk. "Of course.", Mr. Ramsey spits out, with clear rage in his voice. What the hell is wrong with him today? I lead Mr. Ramsey to an empty classroom and close the door behind him with red magic, before turning around. We both scrutinize each other with obvious disdain for the other. "Is there a reason that you're glaring at your teacher, Mr. Ramsey?", I ask him sarcastically. "Oh, a teacher? I'm sorry, I forgot for a moment that you were one, Sir. After all, teachers should act like teachers.", he retorts despitefully. "Excuse me?", I reply with narrowed eyes, my voice growing dangerously low. "You know, it's unsightly to see someone of your age eyeing someone as young and charming as Elise. Do you have no shame?", Mr. Ramsey dares to mock me. "Preposterous! Who exactly is eyeing whom, Mr. Ramsey? I have no such interest in a student of mine, you however pay an awful lot of attention to said student.", I retort menacingly. "And what is wrong with that? After all, it's normal for people of OUR age to fancy each other.", Mr. Ramsey blatantly tries to provoke me. "Fancying each other is one thing, Mr. Ramsey, but stalking people is another. She might not be aware of your creepy habits, but I had the misfortune to notice them. Therefore, as a teacher, I must ask you to refrain from such activities.", I scold Mr. Ramsey, while forcefully keeping my composure. "Funny that you mention that, given how much attention you yourself have been paying to her. Shouldn't you practice what you preach?", Mr. Ramsey retorts. What the hell is he talking about? I furrow my brows. "You dare to accuse me of stalking a student? That's ridiculous. I would NEVER view a student of mine in such a way. You shouldn't project your own faults onto others, Mr. Ramsey." "Oh please, spare me this farce. It's a wonder Elise hasn't noticed it yet, but you obviously have a thing for her. I've seen the way you look at her. You should be thankful, that Elise is such an airhead, otherwise she'd be disgusted by you to death. I wonder, who is it really, that should keep a distance to her? There's no way she'd be disgusted by me after all.", Mr. Ramsey counters. "Enough with this nonsense! Just stay away from her, or I'll make it impossible for you to ever appear in front of her again!", I outright threaten him, before furiously dashing out of the classroom. The situation seems to be even worse than I thought.

I can't stop thinking about what Mr. Ramsey said. 'I wonder, who is it really, that should keep a distance to her?' I smile bitterly, as I recall these words. It doesn't matter what she thinks of me, she's just a student of mine. But I'm afraid, I can't truly leave her side, since we're married and I promised her my protection. However, what worries me, is that Mr. Ramsey seems to think that I'd be romantically interested in _her_ , a student of mine. I don't know how Mr. Ramsey came to such a ridiculous conclusion. Could it be, that I paid her more attention as she is my wife, and Mr. Ramsey misunderstood this as romantic interest on my side? What if he's not the only one, who misunderstood things between me and her? In addition, Mr. Ramsey's obsession with her seems to be far greater than I assumed. In combination with her ignorance towards Mr. Ramsey's intentions, this is quite dangerous. I hate to admit it, but maybe it would be better to ask Petunia for advice on how to handle this situation. She's quite experienced in things like this, though her views on love and marriage are extremely twisted.

I knock on the door to Petunia's office, but no one answers. I try it again, still no answer. A little bit of white magic makes it clear that Petunia is currently inside her office. I frown and knock again, this time louder. "Yes?", Petunia finally answers and I step inside her office. Inside greets me the sight of Petunia, sprawled on her couch, while reading some kind of… children's book? Next to her couch are even more of those colorful books spread over the floor. "What are you doing?", I ask her disapprovingly. "Isn't it obvious, dear Hieronymous? I'm reading Manga." "Aren't you too old for such childish books?", I ask her with a raised eyebrow. "No… Just because they're Manga, doesn't mean that they're for children. At least those are definitely not suited for children…" Petunia's voice grew quieter at the last part and she glances at a pile of books farthest from her. I follow her gaze and frown again. The front of the book on top shows the drawing of a naked woman, playfully covering her private parts with her hands. Distasteful. "Anyways, it's rare of you to come visit me, Hieronymous. Is something wrong?", Petunia asks, as she closes her book and sits up. "Indeed, there's something wrong. I just had a little talk with Mr. Ramsey. He has been stalking Miss- her! And even worse, he didn't show any signs of remorse, when I confronted him about that! We must do something, Petunia. Miss- she doesn't seem to be aware of Mr. Ramsey's intentions. If this goes on, she might be in danger." Petunia looks at me pensively, after I finished my rant. She seems to be taking this seriously, which makes me relieved. "I understand. Don't worry, I will take care of it.", Petunia reassures me.

 **Petunia's POV**

Hieronymous left, and I can finally resume reading again.

" _Ah, senpai. You woke up…", Kyoko stammers embarrassed and shyly retracts her hand from his forehead. "Kyoko-chan? Why are you here?", Kotaro asks her confused. Kyoko's cheeks heat up and she hurriedly explains, "I- It's not like I was worried about you, or anything! It's just… It's my fault that you caught a cold, so I wanted to make it up for you, that's all." Kotaro smiles slightly at the red-faced Kyoko, startling her with his unusually gentle expression. "Make it up for me?", he asks. "Ye- Yes! Here, I cooked congee for you." Kyoko presents the bowl to Kotaro, while shyly looking away. "Kyoko-chan's handmade food…", Kotaro remarks softly, while accepting the bowl, causing the redness in Kyoko's face to deepen even more. "Tasty.", Kotaro says, after slowly eating a few bites. Kotaro's casual compliment causes Kyoko-chan's heart to throb for no apparent reason._

Wait. That's it! The sick-visit-cliché! That should help the two to get closer. It works in Manga after all. Mhm, but how to make Hieronymous sick, without him noticing it?

 **Grabby's POV**

I've been quite busy these past few days. I got so much work to do that I don't even have the time to worry about the situation between Mr. Ramsey and her. And just at this crucial time, I suddenly got sick. Dammit. Of all the times to get sick, I just had to get sick now. Yesterday, my headache was already heavier than usual and my throat felt scratchy, but I was too busy with the Honor society event to pay that any mind. Well, whatever. I still have some paperwork to finish before class. A bit of fever is not enough to keep me from fulfilling my duties. I force myself out of bed and head to the bathroom to take a quick shower. After stepping out of the shower, I suddenly felt dizzy and staggered, nearly crashing into the sink. Dammit, today is going to be hard. While massaging my temples with one hand, I cast red magic to dry my hair with the other. As I'm putting on my robes, my door guard suddenly informs me that Petunia has come to visit. Strange, what could she want from me this early in the morning? Hopefully it's nothing difficult or important, I'm already struggling as it is. "What?", I grumpily greet her after opening the door. "Good morning! Hieronymous, I wanted to talk to you about- Oh my! You look horrible, dear!" "Thanks, you too.", I retort with biting sarcasm. "It seems you caught a cold, dear. I don't think you'll be able to teach in this state. You should get some rest.", Petunia adds, while looking at me sympathetically. "No need. You won't be able to find someone to substitute for me at such a short notice. Anyway, what was it that you wanted to talk about with me?", I ask her impatiently. "Don't mind that. Then it's decided, you'll be resting today. I'll make you soup later, so just stay in your room, ok? Now then, I have to get going." And before I can refute, Petunia already left my room in a hurry. I'm a bit annoyed that she just decided for herself that I would need to take sick leave. But then again, I can't deny that I'm not feeling too well. I deliberate about ignoring Petunia's orders and going to class nonetheless, but ultimately decide against it. I might not be able to react in time in this dizzy state, if one of the students messes up and I can't take this risk. I sigh and return to my dressing room to change into more comfortable clothes, before returning to bed.

"Soup delivery", my door guardian chimes, thereby waking me up from my slumber. Is it really lunchtime already? I still feel drowsy. "Let her in.", I grumble, while forcing my body out of bed. The door opens, but instead of the expected silhouette of Petunia, she is suddenly standing in my quarters. What the… "You! What are you doing here?", I scold her immediately. She shouldn't be here. In fact, of all my students, she is the last person that should dare to ever step into my private quarters, and yet here she is… How could she be so foolish?! "I'm here on Professor Potsdam's request, Sir. To bring you your soup." My gaze slides down to the tray with soup in her hands. Right, soup delivery… And the culprit is Petunia, of course. That mad woman. "Very well.", I reluctantly reply. I'm too tired to be even annoyed at Petunia. "Where shall I place the tray, Sir?", she asks me politely. "That desk. Over there.", I reply, while gesturing towards my desk study. I can hear her mumbling something about 'documents', as she heads towards the desk to carefully place down the tray. After she placed down my soup, she turns around and stares at me accusingly. Excuse me? Have I done anything wrong? No wait, how dare she? I return her gaze questioningly, but she keeps her mysterious complaints for herself. 'Well, at least she still has a little bit sense of what's appropriate', I think, as I sit down in front of my lunch. "Is there anything else I can do for you, Sir?", she asks me from behind. I turn to her and observe her, confused as to why she would bother asking me this. Her eyes avoid my inquisitive gaze. Suspicious. "You can leave me in peace.", I reply dryly. "All right. Get well, Sir.", she calmly replies, seemingly unbothered by my harsh tone. She turns around, and finally heads towards the exit. "… Wait." No, wait, what am I saying? She turns around, looking at me surprised. "I appreciate what you have done for me. However, I would prefer that it were not necessary." She just silently continues staring at me. "I am not accustomed to having students in my rooms. I prefer my privacy.", I add further explanation. Seriously though, why do I bother saying this to her? It's not like I care what my students think about me. "Of course, which is why you should get well soon. So that you can trouble your students in the classrooms instead.", she retorts with a teasing smile. Cheeky. "I will be fine. Now go.", I dismiss her and she finally bids me goodbye and leaves. With her gone, I can finally concentrate on eating Petunia's special anti-cold-soup. As always, the soup tastes delicious. It's weird, despite being sick and unable to work, I'm quite in a good mood. I guess I really needed a free day.

Petunia's soup was effective as always, therefore I'm fit as a fiddle the next day. I expected to be buried in work again, but my work load seems to have lessened a bit instead. I have no idea how Petunia managed to do that, but I'm thankful for the decrease in stress.

It's the first Tuesday of March, which means it's courtship-day, the day which officially initiates the courtship-season. Iris Academy celebrates the begin of the courtship-season by performing the Maple ceremony, one of the simpler courtship-ceremonies. Iris Academy changed its courtship-ceremony from the more difficult Cake-decoration ceremony to the Maple ceremony about thirty years ago, due to the accidental engagements committed by students, who didn't pay enough attention to the rules of the ceremony. Accidently promising to marry someone can't happen in the Maple ceremony, the only faux pas that remains is the mistake of participating despite being married. As only eligible bachelors can participate, I'm fortunately excused from participating this year. Courtship-season is my least favorite season, I'm quite happy that I don't have to attend. The year before, I even made myself get sick to avoid participating. This year I can relax in my rooms without having to do that. Lately, I've been interested in architecture. Petunia mentioned that Iris Academy might need another hall, due to the increasing number of students. Since Iris Academy started to allow wild seeds to attend, each year's batch of freshmen has been bigger than the last. No one knows why that is the case, it's quite peculiar. Black magic has never been my forte, but I'm one of the more skilled teachers in black magic of Iris Academy, therefore it's likely that I'll be involved in the planning and construction of that new hall. For that reason, I want to do some research on magical construction methods and artistical styles, which would fit the image of our Iris Academy. Having finished reading 'Arhitektura Slovenskega Kozolca', I head to the library to return it, while contemplating which book to read next. As I enter the library, I immediately notice her sitting in a corner, while browsing through one of those tacky teen magazines. I didn't expect her to be interested in such rubbish. I place the book into the return slot and turn around to head back, when I suddenly hear her saying, "Good evening, Sir." "Good evening.", I mumble in reply, somewhat unsure how to react. I'm her teacher, she's my student. We're married, yet not even friends. I don't know how to treat her, when no one's around. "What kind of book are you returning?", she asks me curiously. "It is an interlibrary loan." She seems unsatisfied with my answer. "Arhitektura Slovenskega Kozolca. A particular form of handcrafted architecture, of which you have heard nothing", I add. "You're right, I haven't. Have you heard of deconstructivism?,", she counter-asks me defiantly. Deconstructivism? Must be a non-magical architecture style. Given the lack of non-magical construction possibilities, it can't be very amazing. "No I haven't." "Well, I doubt it would fit your taste, Sir, but you should check it out nonetheless, if you're interested in architecture. Also, I'm sorry for my ignorance regarding your slightly unusual interests." The last part she said with a voice drippling of sarcasm. Well, she has a point… I sigh. "You have nothing to apologize about. No one would expect you to know about such things at your age, not even at mine, and my expectations are no exception." Why am I rambling on about expectations and what not? "Good night to you.", I hastily bid her goodbye and walk away. It's peculiar, for some reason I felt the need for her to understand that I'm not looking down on her for not knowing something. Usually, I wouldn't bother to correct my students' misconceptions about my character, but this time I simply didn't want her to think badly of me. What's wrong with me?

On Saturday morning, my door guardian informs me that a letter has arrived for me. No doubt it's from that annoying father of mine. He's probably nagging about how I should marry and produce an heir for him again. Damn that old geezer. When I arrive at the post office, she is already there, sorting the letters. Without looking up, she silently points towards an opened letter with a package next to it. My mail? Why is it opened?! "It was addressed to me, so naturally I read it. I couldn't simply burn my mail, just because I might not like, what I would read, right?" Cheeky. "However, I'm not inclined to accept presents from a man, who I don't know and who obviously doesn't know me, for a wedding that was in name only, so you might want to deal with that instead." What is she talking about?! It couldn't be… "I see.", I manage to say calmly, despite feeling anxious. I take the letter and skim through it. Bloody hell! Why does my father know about my marriage?! … Petunia! It has to be her, she's obviously the only one, who could've informed him. But why would she do that? Ah, but more importantly, the package… Thankfully, it's still unopened. Anyways, she wasn't curious about this present for her? "What? It's not my business how you deal with your relatives, I won't interfere. However, I have to deliver the mail now, so please excuse me.", she replies to my inquisitive gaze, while loading the delivery cart. I follow her outside and bid her goodbye, before heading towards Petunia's private quarters.  
"Oh good morning, Hieronymous. Please, come in." I greet her back, while stepping inside. "You rarely visit me, so what's the occasion? Is something the matter? Do you have problems? Oh my, could it be… love problems?", Petunia bombards me with questions in her usual annoyingly high-pitched voice. "Not 'love' problems, but I do have a problem: with you. Why does this father of mine know about... her?" "Her?", Petunia asks, acting confused. "My wi-, I mean, my… my marriage.", I force the word 'marriage' out of my mouth. The word 'marriage' still causes chills to run down my spine. "Oh, well, about that it's only natural for parents to know about their child's marriage, no? The circumstances prevented him from attending the ceremony, but there's no reason to keep your marriage a secret from him, is there?", she replies unfazed. "No reason?! Petunia, you know my father! Without a doubt, he won't stop bothering her – and me – about conceiving an heir for him. He already wrote her a letter, urging her to do so! Not to mention the wedding present he sent with it, which could've killed her! Thankfully, she is an intelligent young witch, so she didn't toy with it… Anyways, informing him was a huge mistake, Petunia. How do you intend to mend that?", I interrogate her angrily. "Mend that? What's there to mend?" How dare she play dumb with me?! "You know damn well what I'm talking about! How will you keep my father from contacting her again?!" "Relax, Hieronymous. Ms Ojousama-Grabiner is still a student of Iris Academy, his lordship has no power here, remember? And I'm certain she'll be able to deal with him, once she graduates. As you said, she is an intelligent one and her decisions tend to be quite rational as well." "If her decisions were rational, we wouldn't be in this situation now.", I retort spitefully. "Not to mention that this situation naturally won't last till her graduation, the issue remains: your protection is not enough. As I said, he already sent her a letter, and even worse; a present! This is unacceptable!" Despite my rage, Petunia stays calm and just smiles at me softly. "Dear, calm down. It's just a letter! My protection is enough to keep his lordship from forcing you two to consummate your marriage, don't worry." SERIOUSLY?! "What do you mean 'don't worry'?! Do I have to be content with the worst situation possible not being the case?! Who knows, what damage my father could cause her, just by writing her, pressuring her into trying to fulfil her duties for the sake of his retirement! Or sending her more presents, which may threaten her life. "This is your fault, therefore it's your responsibility to fix this. I don't care how, but make it impossible for him to contact her again." Petunia sighs. "Oh dear, you still have this habit of ordering people around. I'll tell his lordship to not disturb your honeymoon-phase, alright? Now then, I still have stuff to do, Hieronymous, so if you would excuse me…" And with this half-assed excuse, Petunia ushers me out of her rooms. Unbelievable…

" _Congratulations, my son. You finally managed to fulfil the bare minimum of what your position requires you to.", the old geezer says with a sleazy smile. "What?" I follow his line of sight… Miss Ojousama?! Oh no, they've met?! "You're congratulating me for my marriage? Even though my wife hasn't even graduated yet?!", I ask him indignantly. Just when I thought he couldn't be any more obnoxious… "Of course not. I'm obviously congratulating you for giving me the heir I've been waiting for all these years." HEIR?! My eyes wander down towards Miss Ojousama's belly, which looks suspiciously round. WHAT THE HELL! "You understand the importance of your current situation, don't you, Lady Grabiner?", father asks her menacingly. "Fire warning" "Yes, your Grace. I will do my best to safely birth my Lord husbands' son.", Miss Ojousama replies in a flat tone. Her eyes look eerily dead. "Fire Warning" No. No, no, no. This can't be happening. How could it come to this? What did my father do to her? This is a nightmare!_ "Fire warning" The sound of sirens causes me to wake up with a start. "Fire warning" Fire warning? I immediately jump out of bed and hastily ask the door guardian, "What's the emergency?", while grabbing a robe to pull over my night gown. "A fire was detected in Falcon Hall, second floor." Without missing a beat, I teleport myself to Falcon hall. Unfortunately, the second floor is the floor, where the freshmen are. They lack experience in how to stay calm during a crisis, therefore I'm especially worried for their safety. When I arrive on the second floor, I spot a crowd of freshmen running around panicky, while shouting, "Fire!". Some are standing in front of the burning door and attack it with breeze. It seems like they're trying to blow out the fire, but instead they're fanning the flames. These idiots… Using red magic, I erect a barrier around the flames and suck the air out of it, thereby smothering the fire. While I'm putting down the fire, the students thankfully calmed down a bit. After extinguishing the fire, I teleport myself inside the room. Inside, the sight of the slightly frightened Mr. Phifer and Mr. Blaising greets me. Both have always been very calm during the exams, therefore seeing them flustered is quite a rare sight. I use green magic, to make sure that they're unharmed and then teleport us out of the room. Thankfully, they haven't inhaled much of the smoke, their lungs are still in a good condition. Nonetheless, I'm going to send them to the infirmary, once they have reported to me what happened. "So? What happened?", I ask them. "We don't know. We woke up from the shouting and when we tried to open the door, the handle was hot. That's why we wanted to leave via the window, but then you suddenly appeared, Sir.", Mr. Blaising reports. "Does anyone know more about what happened? Who was the first person to notice the fire?", I ask the other students. None of the students replies, everyone is just unsurely looking at each other. Dammit, it seems no one knows what happened. "We will thoroughly investigate this incident. I advise the culprits to come forth on their own, since it will guarantee them a milder punishment." After making this declaration, I teleport Mr. Blaising and Mr. Phifer to the infirmary. Just a moment after I made the victims disappear, Prof. Kralik appears. "Prof. Grabiner… Is the situation already under control?", he asks me out of breath. Damn, he's late. "Of course. Mr. Blaising's and Mr. Phifer's door was on fire for unknown reasons, however I extinguished the fire and brought Mr. Blaising and Mr. Phifer to the infirmary. The two of them are safe, but it's unknown as to why the door was burning in the first place as of now. It's clear however, that the fire was set by someone.", I report to him, before relaying the same message to Petunia, using white magic. Prof. Kralik and myself are in charge of the protection of Falcon hall, but Petunia as the headmistress naturally needs to be informed as well. Next, I send the students back into their rooms, so that I can investigate this case without being bothered. First, I inspect the door, using black magic. Unsurprisingly, the seal on the door was destroyed. Otherwise, the door wouldn't have burned in the first place. Judging the fragments of the seal left behind, the seal was destroyed by a fire spell. Which either means, that someone weakened the seal, before attacking the door with it, or the fire spell was strong enough to break the seal. Weakening a seal is quite difficult, it is unlikely that someone used this approach. But for the fire spell being strong enough to break the seal… As for the freshmen, only Mr. Danson – the foolish one – should be able to cast a fire spell strong enough to break the seal. Thinking back, he was already able to cast a fire dragon during the first duel practice. His affinity to red magic is without a doubt remarkable. Additionally, he has a passion for pranks and has underestimated his own strength more than once. Like the way he exploded the wall in his very first exam. Destroying the wall using red magic is a common method of passing the first exam, but there was barely anything left of his wall. Compared to his sister, who is also quite adept at red magic, Mr. Danson is stronger. There is no proof that Mr. Danson is the culprit, but given his past behavior, he's a suspect. Though he wouldn't purposefully harm his friends, it's possible that he simply misjudged his strength.


	41. Chapter 41: Extra - Grabby-POV 5

Extra: Grabiner-POV: Investigation

* * *

After the students have been taken care of, Petunia summons Prof. Kralik and myself for a meeting, the content being about the incident of course. It will be a long night, it seems. Well, reminiscing about that weird nightmare I had, I'm not in the mood for sleep anyways.  
"Please come in.", Petunia invites us into her office, thereby disrupting my thoughts. "First of all, I'd like to start our investigation meeting by saying that I believe in the innocence of our students. Whatever happened tonight, I'm sure there was no ill intent involved.", Petunia declares with conviction.  
One shouldn't jump to conclusions during an investigation. While I do agree that it is improbable that the incident was meant to harm Mr. Phifer or Mr. Blaising, it is still a possibility that shouldn't be discarded right away. "With that being said, do we have any suspects?", Petunia asks.  
"We have no clues as of now, unfortunately. Well, I suppose Mr. Danson, the younger one, is the most likely to cause any sort of trouble in this school, but that alone is not enough to suspect that he was involved in tonight's incident, of course.", I reply.  
"Good. Arrest him.", Petunia swiftly commands. "Excuse me?", I ask perplexed. Surely, I misheard? "Arrest him.", she repeats. "Why?", I ask.  
"Because he is our suspect?", she replies nonchalantly. He is? Since when? Just because I mentioned his unruly behavior? "But there is no evidence to support such a suspicion? To arrest him merely based on his past behavior hardly seems fair." I never expected that I'd have to defend Mr. Danson one day, especially against Petunia! What kind of situation is this? "Given his relationship with the inhabitants of the room that was attacked, it's unlikely that Mr. Danson is the culprit." I can't believe I have to defend Mr. Danson. And in addition, against Petunia! What a weird turn of events.  
"Oh, I'm sure tonight's incident has nothing to do with Mr. Danson. He's a bit naughty, but he would never endanger his friends.", Petunia replies with conviction. Good, it seems she returned to reason. "Nonetheless, let's arrest him." What the hell, Petunia? "Please enlighten me as to why you, of all people, want to arrest a student, who you deem innocent?", I ask her bewildered. "Isn't it obvious? If we arrest him, the culprit will feel bad about emself, which will eventually lead em to confess." Obviously? More like that's the single most inane idea she ever had. Which is saying a lot, given how many inane ideas she had in the past. "And what will Mr. Danson think about your investigation method?", I ask her sarcastically. "How odd, usually you would never bother to take your students' feelings into account, Hieronymous. Could it be, that you're finally softening up?" What the hell is she talking about now? Is it really that odd of me to disapprove of arresting innocents? "Anyways, I'm certain Mr. Danson will be more than happy to get arrested, once we tell him he'll get merits for it, since he's helping us in finding the culprit.", Petunia explains. I'm not convinced about her ludicrous method, but Petunia has made up her mind and she's annoyingly stubborn. Furthermore, as the headmistress, she's naturally the one who has the last say. "Wonderful, then everything is set, right? In that case, I'll return to my sleeping quarters now, I'm dead-tired.", Prof. Kralik comments cheerfully. Oh, he was also present? Given his incompetence in adding anything of use to the investigation, I forgot he was here for a moment. Seriously though, working with him is as good as working alone. Although no, I must correct myself. Working alone is less annoying. Working with Prof. Kralik is worse than working alone.

The next day Petunia proceeds with her insane plan and arrests the young Mr. Danson after class. Once he heard that he'll get five merits for it, he stopped arguing and obediently let himself get locked up in the special detention room. Given how often he causes trouble, he really needs those merits to stay in school, but still, his obedient behavior surprises me.

It's my turn to guard the detention room. To my surprise, I don't see Prof. Kralik sitting at the desk in the small room leading to the detention room, even though it currently should be his turn to guard it. What is this incompetent nitwit trying to do now? I curiously pass the desk and walk further into the corridor, passing into the magical suppression field until I arrive in the detention room, where I witness Prof. Kralik questioning Mr. Danson. "Still not willing to admit, Mr. Danson? We will lessen your punishment, if you confess, you know?" Prof. Kralik was present, when Petunia divulged her plan, wasn't he? Then why is he treating the younger Mr. Danson as a true suspect? Unless, he didn't listen when Petunia divulged her plan to us? Truly, his incompetence knows no bounds. "How many times do I have to tell you? I didn't do anything; therefore, I have nothing to confess!", Donald angrily retorts. "Greetings, Prof. Kralik. It's my shift to guard now. You may leave.", I interrupt their conversation, being fed up with watching this charade. "Ah Prof. Grabiner. Yes, of course, I'll leave the suspect to you.", he replies politely, before scurrying away. "Do you also think I was actually the one, who did it?", Donald asks me bitterly. I don't bother to refute him, nor do I assent to his childish accusations and return to the desk instead. Maybe this incident can be used as a lesson for the younger Mr. Danson; teaching him that his behavior will reflect on him, even if he can avoid the immediate consequences by doing odd jobs for Petunia. After all, he wouldn't be in his position right now, if it wasn't for his constant rule-breaking.

Just a few minutes after my turn of guarding Mr. Danson started, Miss Middleton suddenly arrives in front of my desk. "I demand to speak to Donald.", she declares boldly, as soon as she spots me. "And what are you basing your demands on, Miss Middleton?", I calmly retort. "Well, on what basis have you arrested Donald? There's no evidence that Donald had anything to do with the incident, isn't it unreasonable to lock him up, purely based on his reputation as a troublemaker?!", she counter-asks challengingly. Ugh, I'm really not in the mood to argue with her. She is right of course, but I can't tell her that. "It's up to the staff, not the students, to investigate this incident, Miss Middleton. Rest assured, we will investigate this thoroughly.", I reply evasively. "Well, you won't find anything in investigating Donald, since he didn't do anything, so you might as well start searching for the true culprit.", Miss Middleton retorts haughtily. "Again, Miss Middleton, it's not up to you how the Academy deals with this. We won't cease the investigation of a suspect based on the personal feelings of a student. Now, unless you have something important to report about the incident, I suggest you head back.", I coldly admonish her. Unfortunately, my admonishing wasn't enough to make her leave, instead she's standing in front of me, pouting like a child. How unusually immature of her. "Still not leaving, Miss Middleton?", I ask her with a raised eyebrow, slowly growing annoyed of her presence. "I want to talk to Donald.", she replies resolutely. "No.", I reply curtly. "Why not?", she asks me with crossed arms. Ugh, annoying. "Because he's a suspect and currently under arrest.", I answer. "So?", she follows up. "So, you can't talk to him.", I reply, my patience slowly fading. "Just because he's a suspect?", she asks annoyingly. "Yes.", I reply curtly. "That's not a reason to obstruct me from talking to him though?" I narrow my eyes. "It certainly is enough reason. Since you seem close to him, he could use the chance to ask you to hide evidence.", I argue back. "That's ridiculous.", she retorts. "Please let me talk to him. Please!", she pleads, noticing that her prior retort didn't move me. "No." I can proudly say that pleading never worked on me. I'm quite resistant against such sentiments. "I won't leave, until you let me!", she exclaims stubbornly, changing her approach yet again. Annoying! "5 demerits.", I reply and scribble them down in my little book. "For what?", she asks me with accusing eyes. "For rudely annoying your professor with your nonsense.", I coldly retort. Shock appears in Miss Middleton's eyes for a short moment, only to be replaced by resolution yet again. "I won't give up. Please let me talk to Donald." How stubborn. Well, it's not the first time that she displayed this flaw. But what to do now? Give her demerits until she leaves? It's a pity, since she's such a good student, but you reap what you sow. 'Let her through, Hieronymous.' What the… 'Petunia?', I ask back, using telepathy. She's watching this? Why bother? 'Can't you see? It's young love! Ah, I have to see this…' Bloody hell! Damn that old hag and her romance delusions. "Alright. Go through, but make it quick, Miss Middleton.", I force myself to say through gritted teeth. Unfortunately, that old hag is still my superior… "Yes!", Miss Middleton replies happily, while hastily passing by. "Another thing.", I hold her back. "Yes?", she asks me, tilting her head. "Another five demerits.", I say and note them down in my little book. "…Yes.", she grudgingly replies and continues walking down the corridor towards Mr. Danson's confinement room. Without a doubt, Petunia will listen in on their conversation. A stalking headmistress… The reputation of our Academy would be ruined, if others were to know about this. But then again, it's already miraculous that Iris Academy's reputation isn't in shambles yet, given Petunia's past antics. Well, at least I won't have to listen in on their conversation, since Petunia will be doing that. Listening to their heart-to-heart talk would make me feel incredibly uncomfortable, but given the current circumstances not observing them also wouldn't be feasible. A few minutes later, Miss Middleton comes back and politely yet reluctantly thanks me for letting her talk to Mr. Danson, before leaving.

In the afternoon, just when my shift was about to end, another student barges into the small room. "Why are you here, Miss Solmoro?", I ask her, without looking up from the book that I'm reading. "I… I'd like to turn myself in.", she squeaks in an annoyingly high voice. I look up from my book, and into her eyes. "You want to turn yourself in?", I follow up with a raised eyebrow. "Y Yes. I I'm the one who did it. So please, release Donald. He's innocent.", she replies, while looking onto the floor. I observe Miss Solmoro more closely. Her shoulders are tense, and her hands are clasped with interwoven fingers. It's obvious that she's nervous, but it's unsure whether she's honestly confessing her crimes, or just trying to sacrifice herself for Mr. Danson. Well, with a bit of white magic, the truth will be easily found. 'Petunia, please come here. We have a student turning herself in.', I contact the Petunia telepathically. 'Just a moment, kay?', Petunia replies. A minute later, Petunia teleports down here and takes over the interrogation of Miss Solmoro. As it turns out, Miss Solmoro was indeed the one to set the door on fire. It was an accident, without any malicious intent. How does someone accidently set a door on fire? According to Miss Solmoro, she just wanted to play/practice being a ninja. A ninja. That's why she was sneaking through the school at night, casting attack spells against imaginary foes. This is ridiculous. Unfortunately, it's still unclear as to why Miss Solmoro's attack broke through the protection seal of the door. Well, since Prof. Kralik was the one to renew the seals on the doors the last time, it might have been his mistake. He's careless and incompetent enough to make such an embarrassing mistake, in my opinion. Anyways, thankfully the investigation finally concluded. It's a relief that this incident ended before the exam. To be honest, I'm anticipating how s- my favorite students will fare this time. I'm expecting them all to pass with ease, of course, but I'm curious how they'll deal with having an opponent this time.

To my dismay, some of the students used questionable methods to succeed this time. And Petunia even rewarded them for doing so! Bloody hell. Why does that old hag have no sense of modesty? Once again, I wish I could ask her parents that question, but they died long before I was even born…

On Saturday, I'm supervising detention again, this time not for the young Mr. Danson, but for Miss Solmoro. I gave her the task to research on fire safety and compile the information into a guide. Hopefully, she learned her lesson this time and will act more carefully, should a similar situation arise again.

Just a few days after the fire incident, another incident happened. Prof. Kralik woke me up in the middle of the night, to inform me that Mr. Ramsey had tried to absorb the soul of Miss Dumont. Petunia had already taken care of it, as the ritual triggered the observation-spell she wove over Iris Academy, which detects the weaving of forbidden magic. Unfortunately, Mr. Ramsey managed to escape. To ensure that he won't come back and harm other students, we must modify the protection spells over Iris Academy and take him off the list of beings allowed onto the Campus. As for Miss Dumont, Petunia was able to interrupt the ritual in time, but she received some damage and fainted. Petunia is currently treating her in the infirmary. This wouldn't have happened, if Petunia hadn't insisted on letting Mr. Ramsey stay here, despite his dubious background. To think that the future of a promising witch could've been ruined due to such carelessness, I can't help but be angry at Petunia. She's often preaching about 'giving everyone a chance to prove their goodness', but isn't it more important to protect our innocent students? Giving someone a chance to prove their goodness, gives them a chance to prove their vileness as well. I finished renewing my portion of the protection spells, but thinking about what could've happened, I decide to confront Petunia about her prior decision to let Mr. Ramsey remain here. After teleporting into the infirmary, I immediately find Petunia weaving green magic over a sleeping Miss Dumont. I open my mouth, ready to berate her, but looking closer at Petunia, I'm suddenly unable to say what I wanted to say. I don't remember the last time Petunia looked as pale as she does now. Coupled with that desolate look of hers, which looks especially off on the usually cheerful her… I'm not someone soft-hearted, but… It reminds me too much of myself. Of my mistake. At least, Miss Dumont survived. And she even retained her witch soul, she's still able to weave magic. Just when I was about to quietly retreat and leave her alone, Petunia notices me. "Hieronymous… It's my fault, isn't it?", she asks me sadly. I can't tell what it is, but in this moment, she actually has the atmosphere of someone, who's been alive for a long time, unlike her usual self. "Yes.", I reply softly. My reply seems to surprise Petunia. "How odd. I was certain you would curse me with burning hate, maybe even attack me physically.", Petunia notes. "It seems you're finally starting to forgive yourself.", she adds with a soft smile. I raise an eyebrow, once again not understanding her thought process. "Whenever someone reminded you a bit too much of yourself, you used to passionately hate them.", Petunia explains. "… That is not something that can be forgiven.", I reply stiffly, before teleporting away. Back in my quarters, I have trouble sorting out my thoughts and emotions. I sigh. This is going to be another sleepless night, it seems.

The next day I'm tired as expected, but since I'm used to being sleep-deprived it doesn't affect my teaching. However, I notice that _she_ also seems to be tired? She's not as concentrated as usual. I wonder if something happened to her? Well, her private matters are not my business... I wonder, if she already knows about what Mr. Ramsey tried to do? This Academy has a problem with gossiping, news always travels very fast here, unfortunately. How would she react when hearing about Mr. Ramsey's attempt to steal Miss Dumont's witch soul? Would she be frightened? Since she seemed to have been somewhat close with Mr. Ramsey before… Mr. Ramsey still hasn't been caught, unfortunately. I can't help but feel uneasy, especially given his past behavior towards her. What if Mr. Ramsey still has his eyes on her? Furthermore, the holydays are approaching… She won't return home, right? Mr. Ramsey can't enter the Academy, which means she's safe here, but if she returns home… Should I forbid her to return home, as her husband? No. Since it is my duty to protect her, it would be in my right to do so, but I simply can't do this to her. I don't want to use such means to protect her. Forget it, there are other ways to keep her out of Mr. Ramsey's reach. If she really doesn't want to stay here, I'll simply take the necessary measures to keep her safe outside the Academy. Nonetheless, let's remind Petunia to encourage her to stay here for safety concerns. I could also talk to her myself, of course, but Petunia is better at dealing with convincing students, therefore I'll leave it to her.  
"Oh, you're worried about your cute little wife, Hieronymous? How nice to see you're finally becoming more honest with your feelings.", Petunia replies to my request, while giggling. This annoying old hag! "But there's no need to be shy, dear, you should talk to her directly, if you're concerned about Mrs. Ojousama-Grabiner.", she adds teasingly. That old hag seems to take a weird pleasure in calling her by that cursed full name. "I'm certain she would feel touched, if she heard how much you worried about her." "I'm merely fulfilling my vow, Petunia.", I say through gritted teeth, "Please take this seriously." "So not cute.", old hag replies disappointed. "Well, there's no need for me to talk to her about that. She already agreed earlier to stay here during the holydays." I sigh in relief. "Isn't that nice? You should use the chance to spend some quality time with her, maybe go on a date together, since you'll both be free.", old hag advises me, while grinning sickening-sweetly. Ugh, I reached my limit. If I continue to talk to this deluded woman any longer, I'll snap. "Mind your own business!", I admonish her, before turning my back and quickly walking away. Anyways, it's a relief that I won't have to worry about that any longer.

On Friday, my door guardian informs me that another letter of that father of mine had arrived. It's ridiculous that he's still writing me letters, even though he knows that I never read them. I suppose he simply enjoys bothering me. When I arrive in the post office, I spot _her_ staring at a blue letter in a daze. A blue letter? Elven paper? "Good morning, Sir. Here to incinerate some letters?", she greets me. Something about her tone of voice sounds off. "Hm.", I reply curtly. Without paying her any further attention, I grab my letter and burn it. While doing so, I can feel her staring at me. Suddenly, I hear her hiss in pain. Turning around, I see that her fingers are slightly red and there's a pile of ash on the table beneath her. She tried to copy me? I questioningly raise my eyebrow. She ignores me however and starts casting green magic on her fingers instead. What is going on? The letter… Elven paper isn't sold here, you can only buy it in the Otherworld. Since she's a wild seed, who would send her such a letter? Could it be… Did Mr. Ramsey write her? If that's the case, maybe the letter could've been used to tract his hide-out. But more importantly, if he wrote her, that means he still targets her. "Is there something else, Sir?" I glance at her fingers. Since he's adamant about targeting her, it's better if she doesn't leave the Academy grounds. "I heard you'll stay over the holydays?", I ask her, just to be sure. "That is correct, Sir.", she replies somewhat confused. "Why?", I ask her. Is she frightened due to that incident? Does she feel threatened by Mr. Ramsey's disappearance? Or maybe, she's simply staying because Petunia talked her into it with her nonsense? "I can use magic here more freely, since I don't have to fear being discovered.", she replies calmly. Her eyes flicker to the ashes on the table however, betraying her calm. Her relationship with Mr. Ramsey seems to have been indeed a factor for her decision to stay. "I can assure you, that my decision wasn't influenced by Professor Potsdam. Please don't worry, Sir.", she adds. How could I not worry about her? My worries are clearly not unwarranted! Someone is targeting her after all. Even if we weren't married, she's still my student. It's only normal to worry about a student, who is in danger, isn't it? "If you excuse me, I have to deliver the mail, Sir. Good day to you.", she bids me goodbye, while pushing the cart towards the door and I open it for her. "Good day to you, Miss… Elise." That was close. I nearly used her maiden name. Calling your spouse by eirs maiden name once won't break your marriage contract, but since this marriage is just a farce to begin with, it's better to be safe. Elise… It's a nice name. Very fitting of her.

As it's the last day of school before the holydays, most students are unconcentrated and fidgety during my lessons. How annoying. I usually enjoy teaching, but not when my students aren't interested in learning. Even Miss Middleton seems to be distracted by the upcoming holydays. She's usually my most diligent student, therefore I'm a tad disappointed.  
The drama club is performing another play in the evening, called 'The Small Place Of Purchase Of Frightening Things', to round off the last day of school before the holydays. To be honest, it didn't suit my taste, as it was too outré, too excessively dramatic and weird. They toned down the usage of stage blood compared to the last play though, at least a slight improvement.

After most students left the next day, Petunia gave me the list of students, who are staying at the Academy over the holydays for the first time. Usually Petunia is the one, who explains Iris Academy's holyday schedule to them, but for some reason she's outsourcing this task to me this time. I have a hunch that the reason for that has something to do with the fact that _she_ is among those students. Petunia has always been quite persistent in meddling with my private matters and this time she seems dead-set on letting me spend some more time with _her_. Ridiculous. She is still my student! Therefore, our interactions will naturally be limited to the natural interactions between a student and their teacher, nothing more. As a teacher, instructing your student is not a big deal, which is why I don't mind this task, though I'm annoyed at the intentions of that old hag. I spend the morning completing my task, but I haven't come across her yet. She's the only one left on my list. I wonder where the hell she is. I want to continue reading my current book, it's about Germanic tribes, their culture and everyday life from the perspective of the Romans. I'm not particularly interested in the everyday life of those Germanic tribes, but about the customs they had, as some magical beings, who originated from these regions have overtaken some of those old customs. Anyways, I'm getting hungry. Maybe I should eat lunch first. I'll continue looking for her after my meal. While looking for a place to sit, I unexpectedly spot her sitting by the window, absentmindedly eating her lunch. Wonderful, I finally found her. Before I lose sight of her again, I decide to inform her now and get it over with. She doesn't notice me as I approach her, so I clear my throat to draw her attention. As she's curiously staring at me with her dark-blue eyes, I suddenly feel nervous for some reason. Ignoring my unreasonable nervousness, I ask her, "May I sit down?" …Why am I asking her that? No, wait, it would've been unpolite to sit down without asking and I'm not some unmannered troll. But then again, informing her about our holyday activities doesn't take long anyways… "Sure.", she replies, while tilting her head. No matter. I already asked her, naturally I will eat here now. I sit down, while ignoring her curious gaze and start instructing here about the holyday activities. To my surprise, she asks me, whether those activities include classes. Does she like learning magic that much? I already knew she was a diligent student, but I'm still surprised. However, learning magic is very straining on the mind, it's dangerous to overdo it. After making sure, she understood that and answering her remaining questions, I start eating my lunch. Still feeling her curious gaze on me, I ask her if she has any remaining questions, but she has none. Then why is she staring at me? Is my presence that uncomfortable for her? Somehow, that thought really irritates me. I usually don't care at all for the personal feelings of my students towards me, but… she is one of my best students after all. After I lightly reprimand her for her impoliteness, she turns her attention back to her own meal. As I leisurely continue my meal, my thoughts drift back to the book I'm reading. I haven't finished eating, but the temptation is too great. Well, I'm just going to take a little peek…´

So… I finished my book. Not my dinner, because I forgot to eat, but it was worth it. I wonder, if the book I ordered already arrived? If not, I'll just browse the shelves for more books. While sorting the book about Germanic tribes back, I come across her again. "Good evening, Sir.", she greets me. As I return her greeting, I notice her staring at the book I just put back. Is she interested in what I read? I doubt she'd be able to read it though, 'De origine et situ Germanorum liber' is written in Latin after all. "Are you looking for something specific?", I ask her, though somewhat annoyed at her seemingly endless curiosity. "…bout romantic?" Romantic? Ugh, don't tell me she also reads those cheap 'books' Petunia enjoys so much? "Romantic? This section doesn't contain stories for hormone-driven teenagers.", I reply, failing to hide my revulsion of those lowbrow, trashy novels. "You misunderstood. I meant the Romantic era, not some romantic novel.", she retorts. She acts unfazed, but her slightly pouty lips betray her. 'She feels offended?', I realize amused. "I see. Regarding which topics?"", I ask her, while carefully hiding my amusement. "About the arts." What a vague reply. "Arts?" "Yeah, like music, architecture or painting. There's nothing specific I'm looking for.", she explains. I can't tell, if she's really interested in learning more about the era, or if she's just extremely bored. Not that it matters, these books are protected against any pointless and uncreative vandalism our pubescent students may come up with. I explain to her the sorting system of the library, before heading towards the library loan counter. My book did indeed arrive. It's titled 'Hedley on the Hill: A lesson on shapeshifting by observation of Hedley Kows'. The reviews of this book were extremely good, hopefully it doesn't disappoint.

The next morning, I find a letter attached to my door. I hesitate but decide to read it in the end.

 _Dear Hieronymous,_

 _This is just a little reminder to you, that you shouldn't waste your whole vacation on reading books. Instead, you should take the opportunity to spend more time with your cute little wife! I'm certain she would appreciate it, the last time I saw her she seemed incredibly bored. If you need any dating advice, you know where to find me._

 _Kind regards_

 _Petunia_

 _PS: Keep me updated about the progress of your relationship!_

 _PPS: Oh, and for your first date, how about watching a musical together? I think she'd like that._

The guts of this old hag! I immediately incinerate Petunia's pesky note, before returning to reading.


End file.
